Scanned from the collections of
The Library of Congress
Packard Campus
for Audio Visual Conservation
www.loc.gov/avconservation
Motion Picture and Television Reading Room
www.loc.gov/rr/mopic
Recorded Sound Reference Center
www.loc.gov/rr/record
i
j
i
MODERN SCREEN
THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY SCREEN MAGAZINE
DECEMBER
CENTS
have to consider the cost. But to have chic clothes and a^
gracious life on a modern income, you must plan well and lijP^
follow expert guidance. That's why FASHION was born. f[ (
By showing you clothes and accessories thatare in the best of taste, of
excellent value and still moderately priced, Fashion is a guide to buying.
By telling you about the latest trends in beauty, entertaining, travel,
fun, people and living, Fashion keeps you up-to-date.
By helping you adapt these trends to your requirements,
Fashion adds charm to the business of living.
If you wish to dress and live with distinction, follow Fashion every month.
• Do you want to be an Evening Star? November
Fashion is full of suggestions for gay evenings —
dresses, jewelry, shoes, wraps and accessories.
• Are you thirty and unmarried? Whether you are
or not, you'll enjoy the amusing article which de-
scribes the difficult problem of choosing a husband.
• In the market for a really exciting afternoon dress
and accessories? Or perhaps a wool dress that you
can wear anywhere? You'll find what you want in
November Fashion.
• Have you thought of giving a different look to your
Thanksgiving dinner table? Then you'll want to
duplicate one of the original centerpieces designed
exclusively for Fashion. They are easy to make, cost
next to nothing and are unbelievably beautiful.
• Other highlights: A Football Supper to serve guests
in a jiffy . . . How to travel comfortably with a child
. . . Make-up and coiffures for formal evenings . . .
and other features that make the November Fashion
well worth reading from cover to cover.
Your skin is growing, blooming beneath your old
surface skin . . . waiting for the gift of beauty which
you can do so much to bring it. Let my 4 -Purpose
Face Cream help you endow your new-born skin
with its birthright of loveliness.
ANEW-BORN SKIN ! Think of all the hope for new beauty
that lies in those words. It's Nature's radiant promise
to you . . . and a scientific fact. For right now, as you look
in your make-up mirror . . . every hour of the day and night
a new skin is coming to life.
As a flower loses its petals, so your old skin is flaking
away in almost unseen particles. But there's danger to
your New-Born Skin in these tiny flakes, and in the dirt
and impurities that crowd into your pores.
Those dry flakes so often rob you of beauty. They
cling in rough patches, keep your powder from looking
smooth, and may give a faded appearance to your new-
born skin. My 4-Purpose Face Cream helps Nature by
gently removing these tiny flakes. Only then can your
skin be gloriously reborn.
Did you know... says Lady Esther... that you can make
your years of beauty longer if you always take care of
your New-Born Skin? Let my 4-Purpose Face Cream help
it grow in beauty. It soothes as it gently, surely lifts away
the old skin flakes. It softens accumulated impurities-
helps Nature refine your pores. Your skin can regain an
appearance of youthful freshness !
Ask Your Doctor About Your Face Cream
Only the finest and purest of creams can help your skin to
be as beautiful as it can be! Ask your doctor (and all the
better if he is a specialist on the skin) about the face cream
you are now using.
Ask him, too, if every word Lady Esther says is not true
—that her face cream removes the dirt, the impurities and
worn-out skin, and helps your budding skin to be more
beautiful.
Try my 4-Purpose Face Cream at my expense. See how
gently it permeates and lifts the dry skin and dirt— giving
you a first glimpse of your beautiful New-Born Skin !
The Miracle of Reborn Skin
Your skin is constantly wearing out —
drying — flaking off almost invisibly. But
it is immediately replaced by new-born
skin — always crowding upward and out-
ward. Lady Esther says you can help
make each rebirth of your skin a true
Rebirth of Beauty !
★ PR
OVE M ^ EXPENS£ *
Lady Esther,
7110 West 65th St., Chicago, III. ■ (62)
Please send me your generous sample tube of
Lady Esther Face Cream; also nine shades of
Face Powder, free and postpaid.
Name
Address.
-State-
City
(If you live in Canada, write Lady Esther, Toronto, Ont.)
DECEMBER, 1940
3
DEC 11 J9«#0 ©C1B 482035
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,.gol
Published in
this space
every month
The greatest
star of the
screen !
No matter who is elected, there is no
doubt about the People's Choice.
★ ★
Perhaps you
should know
somefewfacts
aboutyourfa-
vorite screen
candidate. As
follows:
★ ★
In the last 17 annual polls of the nation's
critics, M-G-M produced 53 of the 170
best pictures.
★ ★ ★ ★
Of the 100 leading stars and featured
players in the movies, 48 are under con-
tract to M-G-M.
★ ★ * ★
These include — in alphabetical order — Lionel
Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford,
Robert Donat, Nelson Eddy, Clark Gable,
Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Greer Garson,
Hedy Lamarr, Myrna Loy, Jeanette Mac-
Donald, Marx Brothers, Robert Montgomery,
Eleanor Powell, William Powell, Mickey
Rooney, Rosalind Russell, Norma Shearer, Ann
Sothern, James Stewart, Robert Taylor, Spen-
cer Tracy, Lana Turner. To mention but a few.
★ ★ ★ ★
The M-G-M studios in Culver City are
the world's largest. They occupy 157
acres and employ 4000 people.
★ ★ * ★
M-G-M pictures are produced on thirty
giant sound stages, one of which, 310 by
133 feet, is 40 feet high.
★ ★ ★ ★
The laboratory annually prints enough
film to encircle the earth at the equator
with enough left over to reach from Los
Angeles to Boston. No one has ever tried
to do this however.
★ ★ ★ ★
Among the outstanding films M-G-M has pro-
duced are The Big Parade, Ben-Hur, The
Merry Widow, The Four Horsemen, Broad-
way Melody, Anna Christie, The Big House,
Trader Horn, Grand Hotel, The Thin Man,
Smilin' Through, David Copperfield, The
Great Ziegfeld, Mutiny On The Bounty,
San Francisco, The Good Earth, Captains
Courageous, Boys Town, Test Pilot, The
Citadel, The Wizard of Oz, Babes In Arms,
Goodbye Mr. Chips, Ninotchka, Northwest
Passage, Boom Town, Strike Up The Band,
and Escape. How many have you seen ?
For November we announce two out-
standing productions. Jeanette Mac-
Donald and Nelson Eddy in Noel
Coward's "Bitter Sweet". And Judy
Garland in George M. Cohan's "Little
Nellie Kelly".
★ ★ ★ ★
When the lion roars on the screen, you're
in for a good time.
Advertisement for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
9?m
KNEE HIGH TO AN "OSCAR"
Movie-fan Gloria Jean has hitched her wagon to a dozen stars! 6
EXPOSING WEAKNESSES OF TOP RANKING STARS
Ace directors turn the spotlight on hitherto invulnerable reputations. . 24
THE MOST MALIGNED WOMAN IN HOLLYWOOD
You thought Hepburn was a madcap? S'prise! She's endearingly normal 26
THE MAN HUNT IS ON!
Blasting the illusion that Hollywood's a gal's happy hunting-ground.. 28
LOVE AND LANA
The exclusive and incredible "inside" on the Turner-Shaw marriage!.. 30
BAD BOY MAKES GOOD
Hollywood's finally given the devil his due — Humph Bogart's a star! 32
CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS
Another nothing-but-the-truth session — this time with Linda Darnell. ... 34
FUN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT
Life's a thrill a minute for Bob Cummings, who leads a double life! 36
HOLLYWOOD GANGS UP ON BRENDA MARSHALL
The saga of a star whose face is perpetually red 38
A DAY TO REMEMBER
Even if marquees didn't remind you of her, you couldn't forget Laraine 42
A SKIN THAT MEN ADORE
The most potent allure of all is yours practically for trie asking 44
GOING PLACES?
Enslave the stagline as you enter in a dazzling white woolly wrap!. ... 53
CHRISTMAS STYLE SCENE FOR A GOOD GIRL
What-to-give hints for distracted Santas 54
STEP OUT, GLAMOROUS LADY!
Look like a star — without a star's salary 55
SIX GAY DECEIVERS
They'll make you look in the pink, without putting you in the red! 56
PROP SHOP
Twinkle and shine in these winter trimmings 58
Information Desk 8
Movie Reviews 10
Modern Hostess 12
Our Puzzle Page 14
Movie Scoreboard 16
Portrait Gallery 19
Ice Follies of 1941 40
Good News 48
On the Set with "Kitty Foyle" 52
Crocheted Matchmakers 59
Behind the Scenes with "Virginia" 60
Cover Girl: Norma Shearer, natural color photograph by Erbit — Varady Studios
PEARL H. FINLEY • Editor
ALTHEA RICKERT • Fashion Editor OTTO STORCH • Art Editor
Vol. 22, No. 1, December, 1940. Copyright, 1940, the Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 149 Madison Ave., New York.
Published monthly. Printed in U. S. A. Office of publication at Washington and South Aves., Dunellen, N. J. Single
copy price 10c in U. S. and Canada; U. S. subscription price $1.00 a year; Canadian subscription $2.00 a year,
foreign subscription $2.20 a year. Entered as second-class matter, Sept. 18, 1930, at the Postoffice, Dunellen, N. J.,
under Act of March 3, 1879. Additional second class entries at Seattle, Wash.; San Francisco, Calif.; Houston, Texas,-
Savannah, Go., and New Orleans, La. The publishers accept no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material.
Names of characters used in semi-fictional matter are fictitious. If the name of any living person is used it is purely a
coincidence. Trademark No. 301773.
4
MODERN SCREEN
ttfo —
Of all the musical thrills your singing sweethearts ever gave you, here is the greatest!
Ziegfeld's memorable stage triumph — crowded with romance and melody— becomes in glo-
rious Technicolor a picture you'll never forget. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer proudly presents . . .
NELSON
JEANETTE
MacDONALD • EDDY
in NOEL COWARD'S
Photographed in Technicolor with
GEORGE SANDERS, IAN HUNTER, FELIX BRESSART
Original Play, Music and Lyrics by Noel Coward. Screen Play by Lesser Samuels
Directed by W. S. VAN DYKE II. Produced by Victor Saville
A METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURE
Swu^i-l "the call of life" "i'll see you again" "what's love" "tokay" "dear little cafe" "ladies of the town" "zigeuner"
DECEMBER, 1940
5
THIS year, when Gloria Jean
went to Washington for the
President's Birthday Ball, she
conquered the capital like
the British in 1812.
Mrs. Roosevelt fell in love with
her at once and led her all around
by the hand. The President him-
self told her his famous stories.
She was shown their private quar-
ters— a rare privilege; she had
lunch in the dining room; she was
toasted in Washington's great ho-
tels and J. Edgar Hoover even es-
corted her through the government
offices. She was feted and fussed
over by famous national figures on
every side.
When Gloria got back to Holly-
wood, someone asked her what had
thrilled her most. She sighed soul-
fully.
"Tyrone Power hugged me!" she
breathed.
Yes, Gloria Jean Schoonover
thinks she is the luckiest girl in the
world and she probably is.
Less than two years ago she was
living in a cheap New York room-
ing house with her ambitious
mother, trudging the flinty city
pavements hunting a break. No-
body had ever heard of her except
a few folks in her home town,
Scranton, Pennsylvania. They knew
her as a talented, pretty little
thrush billed at local benefits,
shows and song festivals as "Baby
Schoonover."
Today Gloria Jean's name is
known wherever movies are shown.
She is warm and well fed, golden
from the California sun and, while
not exactly rich, at the rate she's
going she will be before long. She
scored a solid hit in her very first
picture, "The Underpup;" she co-starred
with Bing Crosby in her next one, "If I
Had My Way;" and she's starring all by
herself in her third, "A Little Bit Of
Heaven." She's following right in the
fabulous footsteps of Deanna Durbin,
guided by the same movie magician, Joe
Pasternak, who made Deanna what she is
today. All in all, Gloria is a cinch for
a fat Hollywood future.
But that's not why Gloria Jean thinks
she's lucky. Fame and fortune are things
which just don't make her vibrate at all yet.
She simply doesn't understand them ap-
plied to herself. When she travelled back
to Scranton for the world premiere of
"The Underpup," a newsbutcher hopped
on the train before they arrived with a
stack of Scranton special editions that had
BY KIRTLEY BASKETTE
Gloria's picture plastered over every
page. She flipped right through
them without a glance and concen-
trated on Flash Gordon in the fun-
nies! At the height of the welcome
parade which passed her house,
Gloria abandoned the cheering
throngs to greet her mutt dog,
"Wimpy."
The fact is, it simply doesn't occur
to Gloria Jean that she's a star.
What makes her pinch herself every
now and then is the realization that
she is actually in Hollywood, walk-
ing and talking with her own movie
idols; hob-nobbing with Academy
Award winners!
One day, while Gloria was making
her first picture, Charles Boyer wan-
dered over to her set to see someone
or other. Gloria gazed in awe at the
romantic Charles and finally was led
up and introduced. She stood on
tiptoes and quavered in his ear, "Oh,
Mr. Boyer — will you do something
for me? Will you just walk down
the street with me alone, please?"
Puzzled but smiling, Boyer offered
Gloria his arm, and together they
strolled up and down the "New York
Street" on Universal's back lot, as
all the other little girls in "The Un-
derpup" cast gazed in rapt envy.
"Thank you," sighed Gloria Jean
dizzily when the stroll was over.
"Now," she said, "I don't care how
many autographs you sign, Mr.
Boyer. I've had you all to myself!"
The first time Gloria Jean met
Deanna Durbin, one of her very
special private idols, she stared awe-
struck and blurted, "Gee, but you're
beautiful!"
I could have said the same thing
quite easily the day I dropped in on
Gloria Jean (Continued on page 81)
Gloria's following right in the tracks of her Award-winning idols!
6
MODERN SCREEN
yfomsk ~ '
I could $ay~=
I mas sorry. .
BETTE DAVIS
in WARNER BROS.' glowing presentation of
the brilliant novel and stage triumph by
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM
HERBERT MARSHALL
JAMES STEPHENSON
Frieda InescorfGale Sondergaard
A WILLIAM WYLER PROD'N
Screen Play by Howard Koch
Music by Max Steiner
A Warner Bros. -First National Picture
ige triumph by ^^^^^^^^^
DECEMBER, 1940
7
NOTE: If you desire a reply by mail,
send a stamped, self-addressed envelope
to Information Desk, Modern Screen, 149
Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
Bob Warren, Albany, N. Y. Too bad you
live so far away — for Helen Parrish is
no longer engaged to Forrest Tucker.
She's free-lancing and loving it! Rand
Brooks is about her most constant suitor
at present, but it's not a bit "serious,"
they say. At seventeen, Helen's a movie
veteran, having debuted at the age of
three. She's made dozens of pictures,
but we hear her next one — "Six Lessons
From Madame La Zonga" — is definitely
her best. Helen, who's lately being
dubbed "the girl with the Petty legs,"
(they're exactly like those of the famous
"Petty girls") can be reached at Uni-
versal Studios, Universal City, Calif.
M. Lehocky. Blue Island, 111. Did you
know that if it weren't for a girl named
Doris, "Gary Cooper" would probably be
just a signature under mediocre cartoons
instead of a top-billing name on theatre
marquees the world over? It all began
when Gary entered Grinnell College's art
department and looked into the eyes of
the above-mentioned changer of des-
tinies. Their lines crossed, however.
Her ambition was to go to California;
his major aim — a career as a cartoonist
and a home in the mountains of his
native Montana. They quarrelled and
compromised. Gary, sketch book under
his arm, set out for Los Angeles, promis-
ing to send for Doris when he was
famous. His cartoons failed to impress
the Gold Coast, so just for a lark, he
tried the movies and succeeded right
off the bat. Almost overnight he was
Hollywood's man of the hour, and Doris
was a thing of the past. Today, more
than a dozen years later, Gary's still
doing all right. He's one of the busiest
men around, but still finds time for
sketching, riding and big-game hunting
— to say nothing of night-spotting with
his lovely wife, Sandra Shaw, and romp-
ing with his cunning little daughter.
Statistically speaking, he's six feet two
and one-half inches tall, weighs 175
pounds and was thirty-nine on May 7.
Clare Green, St. Mary's, Penna. We think
it's grand that you have one favorite
'round whom to center all your interest,
and who could be a better choice than
lovely Ginger Rogers! She's exactly five
feet four in her stocking feet, and has
the enviable combination of flashing
green eyes and red-gold hair. Her own
name is Virginia McMath. There are
flourishing fan clubs for both her and
Paulette Goddard, so drop us a line if
you'd like to know how to join either
or both. If you'd like to start a club for
a star who's not yet so honored, just say
the word and we'll send you full instruc-
tions as well as a list of prominent "club-
less" stars.
Jean Rogers, Cleveland, Ohio. Jeffrey
Lynn was born Ragnar Godfrey Lind in
Auburn, Mass., on February 16, 1909.
He is not married and may be reached
at Warner Brothers, Burbank, California.
. . . Tony Martin's thirty-first birthday
falls on Christmas Day, and he always
demands both birthday and Christmas
presents. His divorce from Alice Faye
became final on March 22 of this year.
Tony, who was discovered by no less a
personage than Darryl Zanuck himself,
was christened Alfred Morris, and may
be reached at Columbia Pictures, 1438
North Gower Street, Hollywood, Calif.
Helen Weidaw, Delaware, Ohio. Spencer
Tracy, that man who manages to be
tough and tender all in one breath, first
saw the light of day in Milwaukee, Wis.,
on the fifth of April, just forty years ago.
He was educated in Milwaukee and
Kansas City schools until World War I
and enlistment in the Navy interrupted
his junior year of high school. At the
war's end, he continued at Ripon College,
where in school dramatics he was first
bitten by the "stage bug." Following his
studies at the American Academy of
Dramatic Art in New York, Spencer
gained invaluable experience touring
with stock companies before his screen
debut in "Up the River." Unassuming
in spite of two Academy Awards, he'd
much rather talk about his charming
wife, Louise Treadwell, and their two
children, Johnny and Susy.
Virginia Black, Arlington, Mass. Leave it
to the women to be curious about the
ages of the stars! But we can't blame
you, really, because it is so difficult to
guess just how old most of Hollywood's
(Continued on page 85)
You just can9!: stump us! Write in for a personal reply
8
MODERN SCREEN
TURBULENT ADVENTURE... SET AGAINST THE RICH,
ROMANTIC TAPESTRY OF EARLY ARIZONA!
he story of lovely Phoebe
Titus, titan of a woman, and her
love for dashing Peter Muncie,
Sergeant, U. S. A.! Mighty spec-
tacle! Tempestuous stampedes!
War! Lawless raids! Intrepid men
and women! At last, in all its wild,
brave magnificence, the motion
picture drama of Arizona's birth!
Created by a great picture
maker, . . at incalculable cost
. . . with a superb cast of
thousands . . . in especially
re-created Old Tucson!
M. .-■'."■■■'*"" 7
starring
5k
PRODUCTION ... AT
YOUR LOCAL THEATRE
JEAN ARTHUR
with
WILLIAM HOLDEN
\ WARREN WILLIAM • PORTER HALL
P and a cast of thousands
Based on the Saturday Evening Post serial and novel by Clarence Budington Kelland
Screen play by Claude Binyon • Directed by WESLEY RUGGLES
A Columbia Pictute
DECEMBER, 1940
9
Garland and Rooney clown
in "Strike Up the Band."
Cooper and Goddard in
"North West Mounted Police."
BY WOLFE KAUFMAN
STRIKE UP THE
BAND
Though this picture has very little to
recommend it except youth, it has so much
of that — vital, exciting, exuberant youth —
that you'll probably go for it! And the
antics of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
won't make anybody mad, either.
Do you remember "Babes in Arms?"
Well, this could be called another version
of it with different songs and different
dialogue. It's the same basic plot — but
Metro probably figured it was good the
first time, so why not try it again? Okay,
Mr. Metro, do it a third time as long as
you keep Judy Garland in it! To our way
of thinking, Judy is just about the ne plus
ultra of all time. The kid's got everything.
She can sing a song like a trouper, she can
peddle a line with the best of 'em, and she
can do a Conga that'll positively aston-
ish you.
The story concerns the difficulties of an
ambitious drummer-boy, Mickey Rooney,
in organizing a band. It's not all plain
sailing, but eventually he gets his band
together for a radio contest and wins a
prize offered by Paul Whiteman. Thus ends
the plot of the tale, but the entertainment
doesn't stop there! You'll love the dances
and ditties, especially one swell song en-
titled "Our Love Affair." Directed by
Busby Berkeley. — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: A year from
the day production began on "Babes in
Arms," Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
started the first scene in "Strike Up the
Band," directed by Bus Berkeley and pro-
duced by Arthur Freed. The same quar-
tette have a date for 1941, to make "Babes
on Broadway" . . . Mickey practiced his
drum solo for the "Drummer Boy" number
two hours a day for a month and two days.
While waiting to have it shot, he began
picking out the tune on a xylophone that
was handy and wound up playing both in
the picture . . . Mickey's dad, Joe Yule,
who has played in a burlesque house in
Los Angeles for a number of years, appears
with his son for the second time. First time
was in "Judge Hardy and Son" . . . Nine
different orchestras are used in the film —
a new high for a single picture . . . The
miniature band made from various fruits
and vegetables, seen in the "Our Love
Affair" number, took a crew one month to
complete and six men to operate . . .
Mickey uses make-up for the second time
since his mother applied burnt cork to
make his hair suitable for the Mickey
McGuire roles . . . During production of
"Strike Up the Band," Judy celebrated
her eighteenth birthday and her graduation
from high school . . . Judy revives "Heaven
Will Protect the Working Girl," the song
that laughed every sentimental popular
ballad off the market back in the days
when Marie Dressier made her greatest
stage hit . . . Paul Whiteman's "fatherly
talk" to Mickey in the picture is virtually
the story of Whiteman's own life.
★★★^ NORTH WEST
MOUNTED POLICE
Pictures come, stars go, worlds change,
but Cecil B. DeMille goes on forever.
Here is another of those DeMille specials
with his usual can't-miss formula — lots of
action, lots of excitement, a terrific cast of
stars, some top-notch and thoroughly ex-
citable scenery — but this time it's all
wrapped up in a cellophane bundle of beau-
tiful Technicolor! It's a lot of movie, and
all of it's swell.
You've probably heard the story many
times about the North West mounted po-
liceman who always gets his man. Well,
DeMille has to go that yarn one better, of
course, so he reminds you that the Texas
Rangers used the same slogan. And when
both Preston Foster, the Canadian, and
Gary Cooper, the Texan, go out to knock
off the same meanie, said meanie (George
Bancroft) should know enough to give up
right away. But he doesn't — the die-hard
— not until the grand finale.
To complicate things just a little, both
Preston and Gary fall in love with Made-
leine Carroll — not that any one blames
them — and the picture finishes with one of
the boys getting his man and the other
getting Madeleine. Now you can have your-
self some fun guessing which gets who.
That's not the whole story, of course.
There are lots of undercurrents caused by
the fact that Madeleine's brother, Robert
Preston ( don't get the Prestons mixed up ) ,
is in love with a blue-eyed half-breed —
Paulette Goddard, who is secretly Ban-
croft's daughter. Walter Hampden, as an
Indian chief, Akim Tamiroff and Lynne
Overman provide the humorous element,
such as it is, and there are a half-dozen
other well-known actors and actresses in
the picture.
It's not one of those films that we in-
tellectuals are likely to rave about, but it's
a good movie. Some of the dialogue is
pretty bad, and you have never heard quite
such a collection of strange accents, but
what's the difference?
The key to this film's success lies in the
fact that it is two hours long and not a
minute of it drags. Directed by Cecil B.
DeMille. — Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Over 1,000
persons are in the cast, and there are 153
speaking parts . . . This is DeMille's 64th
production as he enters his 28th year as a
producer-director; this is his first all-Tech-
nicolor production although he was the first
Hollywood producer ever to use color in a
film (in 1917) . . . The Royal Canadian
Mounted Police opened its official records
to the filmers for research purposes and
helped to drill DeMille's "troops". . .
Walter Hampden underwent the most un-
usual bit of make-up for this film ever
attempted. Blue-eyed Indians are out of
the question, so the color of his eyes was
changed to brown by way of invisible con-
tact lenses; first time this has been done
10
MODERN SCREEN
THERE'S A NEW HIGH
IN HOLLYWOOD HITS
BOUND TO PLEASE ALL
YOU FLICKER FANS
Cagney loves Sheridan
in "City for Conquest."
Basserman, Robinson, Best in
"A Dispatch from Reuter's."
for any film . . . Madeleine Carroll drives
a team of half-wild horses in the picture;
she did this difficult stunt herself, did not
use a double . . . The scene that Lynne
Overman got the greatest pleasure out of
(plus a goodly number of scratches and
black and blue marks) is the one in which
he engages in a hand-to-hand fight with
Paulette Goddard.
CITY FOR
CONQUEST
It has been many years since this par-
ticular reviewer of films has been so thrilled
and excited by a movie. That, of course, is
what is jokingly referred to as climbing out
on a limb — but any way you want to look
at it, in his opinion it is a sock, a smash,
a click, a whiz, or whatever else you can
think of.
The film gives you Heartbreak Town
without missing a beat. It's a story of flying
fists and twinkling toes, of gangsters and
gals, of guys and goofs. It's everything
that's good and everything that's bad. It's
hokum and hilarity. It's New York.
There's acting in this picture and writ-
ing and direction. And all of it is first-
grade. Jimmy Cagney is a prize-fighter who
almost becomes a champ in spite of the
fact that he hates prize-fighting, because
he wants to be as much of a success as his
girl, Ann Sheridan. And Ann wants to
dance; she wants to be a star and see her
name in lights. But that's not in the cards,
and she winds up in a burlesque house,
broke and hungry, at about the same time
that Jimmy, blinded, begins to peddle
papers for a living.
Well, it tears your heart out to see
Jimmy as the blind newsboy towards the
finish of the film. But it isn't sad. That's
the strength of this picture. Jimmy, with
his awful finish, and Ann, with all the
kicking around she's gotten, learn some-
thing. They learn that New York has a
heart, too — and music, a symphony. And
there are good things in the big town.
Jimmy's kid brother studies hard at his
piano throughout the film, and it's Jimmy's
hard-earned coin that helps put the kid
through. At the windup he plays a big
symphony at Carnegie Hall.
Now, let's hand out the laurels. Cagney
and Sheridan are topnotch, and there are
two brand new film actors whom you'll hear
a lot from in the future — Elia Kazan and
Arthur Kennedy. You didn't expect An-
thony Quinn to be as good as he is here,
and there's a honey of a small bit by Lee
Patrick. The director is Anatole Litvak,
who's become accustomed to taking bows,
and he deserves a lot of them.
And let's not forget young Bill Cagney,
Jimmy's brother; this marks his first ap-
pearance as a film producer, but not his
last; the kid knows his stuff. Directed by
Anatole Litvak. — Warner Brothers.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: This is Cag-
ney's 52nd film fight but it's the first he's
lost . . . Practically entire cast, as well
as author, scenarist and associate producer,
are New Yorkers. Even Josephine, the
monkey used in the East Side hurdy-gurdy
scenes, is one . . . Picture employed a
number of unusual-job men; among them,
a "piano-untuner," a "razor-duller" and a
"wallpaper smudger" . . . Carnegie Hall
set cost $12,000 . . . The Madison Square
Garden set, including the rings, tunnels,
lobby, aisles and dressing-rooms, cost $18,-
000 to build . . . Authentic scenes, photo-
graphed in New York, include Coney Island
at night, approach to Williamsburg Bridge,
tenements, hospitals, water front and lone-
some street corner at 2 a.m. . . . Aben
Kandel, author of original novel from which
the film was adapted, described New York
noises to composer, Max Steiner; result
is the seven-minute symphony, "Song of
the City," heard in the picture; 92-piece
symphony orchestra plays it . . . Ann
Sheridan is part Cherokee; her dancing
partner, Tony Quinn, part Aztec . . . Three
pairs of hose were kept on tap for Ann
Sheridan at all times . . Boxing gloves
worn by Cagney and his opponents weighed
only 4 ounces. The reason for not using
the heavy regulation type was to prevent
arm fatigue on the part of the actors.
***% A DISPATCH FROM
REUTER'S
You'd never forgive yourself if you let
the title of this one keep you away, be-
cause here's a film which completely es-
capes the tedium of most pictures based on
facts. Besides, there's a warm, deep, human
love story that you will remember for a
long time.
Eddie Robinson opened a lot of eyes
when people saw what a fine and intelligent
actor he was in "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic
Bullet." Silly, of course, because he played
Shakespeare and practically everything else
before he ever came to Hollywood; and
again in this picture he handles a role
completely different from anything he has
attempted on the screen before, that is — a
genuine, warm, and exhilarating character.
Maybe you've already heard the story
of Julius Reuter (Robinson), founder of
the first international news-gathering ser-
vice which still covers the world and is as
well-known in Europe as our own Asso-
ciated Press or International News Service.
It is an exciting newspaper yarn with
a lot of thrilling historical background
showing how Reuter originated the idea of
sending messages by carrier pigeons; how
he got the idea of gathering and selling
news to papers for the first time. When
telegraph outmoded pigeons, he was the
first man to send a news story over the
telegraph. He scooped the world on the
occasion of Emperor Louis Napoleon's
settlement of peace in Europe and scooped
Europe at the time President Lincoln was
shot.
It's not just thrilling excitement that
makes this an outstanding film, but the
heart-warming (Continued on page 15)
DECEMBER, 1940
11
tart Xow for
a More Festive Yuletide
Don't you realize that it
will be here before you know it! What
will? Why Christmas of course. And it's
none too soon to start planning and plot-
ting for those important little things that
pay such valuable dividends. We mean
artistic gift wrappings, merry holiday
decorations for your hearthside and gay
trimmings to hang on the Tree.
You can get started immediately by
simply filling in and mailing to us the
coupon on the opposite page. In return,
we'll send you, promptly and without
cost, a detailed description of how to
make (1) the wistful little angels and (2)
the jovial Santa you see pictured here.
There are so many different ways you
can use them to decorate your home.
For instance, let the angels spread
glad tidings in a duet on the mantel,
in a solo on each window cord or in
mixed chorus with other decor on the
dinner table. And you can put Saint
Nick on the outermost limb of the tree.
The older children will just love to make
these figures, but they may find it even
more fun and lots easier to fashion the
tree ornament and package decorations
shown on this page. These are made out
of such familiar things as cellophane
glassips, sealing wax, notarial seals,
gummed labels and stars and both trans-
parent and colored Scotch tape, all of
which you can easily pick up at the
stationery and gift counters of your local
variety store. Get started now! Don't
forget to mail the coupon on the opposite
page for the instructions for the angels,
Santa and gift wrappings.
For the other decorations d v Kj
pictured here, follow the o T IV
Courtesy Dennison Mfg. Co.
ARJORIE DEEN
\
MODERN SCREEN
directions below. You can't go wrong,
especially with these cute Dennison
sketches to guide you.
CLOWN'S HEAD (3)
Use a metal-rimmed tag for the head,
and red and black gummed dots for
the eyes and nose; red lawyers' seals
form the mouth and cheeks. For neck
ruff, fold two large notarial seals in half
and fasten to head. Decorate with bow
of silver ribbon. For the hat roll a
notarial seal around your finger and join
edges together. Slip a loop with a knot
through hat before fastening it to head.
STAR ORNAMENT (4)
Place a length of silver ribbon between
two notarial seals. Moisten two large
gummed or silver stars and place one on
each side of seal. Decorate loop with a
bow of silver ribbon or cellophane. Make
flocks of these single units for the tree;
or fashion them into long garlands to
loop over the branches or from one side
of a window to the other.
MINIATURE TREES (5)
Make each tree out of a large colored
tag (they are available in several colors).
Measure up from the bottom three-
quarters of an inch and draw a hori-
zontal line from side to side. Measure in
three quarters of an inch from each side
and draw two vertical lines from the
horizontal line to the lower edge of the
tag. Cut out the two corner squares,
thus formed, leaving the small center
strip to form the trunk of the tree. Now
draw a diagonal line from the center of
tag, above the trunk, to both outer edges
of the horizontal line. Score these lines
with the point of the scissors and bend
sides back to form a triangle. Fasten
sides together in back with transparent
Scotch tape. Decorate front with gold
stars and use gold seals for tree base.
GLASSIP POMPONS (6)
Cut 25 glassips into three-inch sections.
Top both ends with sealing wax— white
wax on blue, red or other colored sippers,
blue, silver or gold wax on the colorless
sippers. Group the wax-tipped glassips
together, ends even, and wind spool wire
twice around the center. Pull hard on
wire, fasten firmly with a twist and knot.
As you pull on the wire, the glassips will
spread out into a pompon. Leave an end
of surplus wire for a loop of ribbon.
HOME SERVICE DEPARTMENT
MODERN SCREEN MAGAZINE
149 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
Please send me free directions for
making Santa Claus, Christmas Angels
and fancy packages as illustrated.
Name
Address
(Street, Number)
City State
(Paste coupon on postcard)
LI LABNER w
Al Capp
Reg. U. 5. Pot. Off.
EF AH KETCHES U'L ABNER , AH
MARRIES HIM ON ACCOUNT THIS
IS SADIE HAWKINS DAY.?'- OH,
HAPPY SADIE HAWKINS' DAY"-
IIT'5 -(Pi/FFf-hWS USE.^GERTIE
G005EGREASE WILL GIT HYAR IN
5" MINUTES.'-AH J-JEST HAIN'T
GOT TH' STRENTH T' TAKE
ANOTHER STER/l'-AH IS
DOOMED//
ALU CHILLUN THRIVES ON NEW
5-MINUTE CREAM OF WHEAT//
JEST LIKE MAH CHILE, NAME OF
U'L ABNErsff-AM' ITS COMPLETELY
DIGESTIBLE AFTER. ONLY
S-MINUTES OF BOILING -EVEN
■^FOR, BABIES 1
GROWN-UPS TOO, LOVE THE
RICHER, WHEATIER FLAVOR,
OF NEW 5-MINUTE
CREAM OF WHEAT...
NEED THE EXTRA MINERALS
ANP VITAMIN Bi
NEW 5-MINUTE
AND REGULAR"
CREAMofWHEAT
"CiQom of Wheol" Reg U S Pol Off.
DECEMBER, 1940
13
MIXED-UP BY
MAKE-UP? . . JUST
BeYourselL
Be Natural!
A RE you going wild trying to find
p\ your own shade of lipstick among
the thousands of shades on the market?
Use tangee natural... actually the lip-
stick of a thousand shades ... for Tangee
changes as you apply it to your lips, from
orange in the stick, to the ONE shade of
red JUST RIGHT for your skin-coloring!
For perfect make-up harmony, match
your lips with Tangee Face Powder and
Tangee Creme or Compact Rouge.
You'll find Tangee Natural helps end
that painted look. And, once you've
applied Tangee, the special cream base
will keep your lips smooth and soft for
hours and hours!
"WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS LIPSTICK"
SEND FOR COMPLETE
MAKE-UP KIT
The George W. Luft Co. Dist.. 417
Fifth Ave., New York City. . .Please
rush "Miracle Make-up Kit" of sample Tangee Lipsticks
and Rouge in both Natural and Theatrical Red Shades.
Also Face Powder. I enclose 10t (stamps or coin).
(15tf in Canada.)
Check Shade of Powder Desired:
□ Peach □ Light Rachel • □ Flesh
□ Rachel □ Dark Rachel □ Tan
Name-
Street-
City
a i:
Puzzle Solution on Page 83
ACROSS-
1.
Hero of "Boom
62.
Town"
65.
6.
Dominant feature
11.
Male lead of "Lit-
tle Bit Of Heaven"
67.
16.
Michael
68.
17.
Femme in "Dance,
Girl, Dance"
69.
18.
He stars in "The
Californian"
72.
20.
Instrument Anita
Louise plays
78.
21.
Shirley Temple's
81.
birthmonth: abbr.
23.
Countess in "Es-
83.
cape"
25.
Malt beverages
84.
26.
V Zorina
27.
Actress in "Lucky
Partners"
87.
29.
- - - - Brooks
88.
31.
Jack ie
89.
32.
"Lillian Russell"
34.
Star of "I Mar-
91.
ried Adventure"
92.
35.
Fondle
36.
Girl in "Brigham
Young"
93.
38.
Right of holding
95.
40.
Duchess in "All
This, And Heav-
97.
en Too"
42.
Dennis Morgan's
former name
98.
43.
Fix firmly
44.
Wife of Tyrone
100.
Power
102.
103.
47.
Organ of hearing
48.
Three: prefix
104.
49.
B - - - Lugosi
51.
Heroine in "Vir-
ginia"
106.
55.
Star of "Wyo-
ming"
108.
60.
One of the arch-
110.
angels
111.
61.
Star of "Diamond
Frontier"
112.
"Flowing Gold"
With Colbert in
"Arise My Love"
Poetic for "eve-
ning"
Birthmonth of 72
across: abbr.
Popular actress
pictured above
Sheep
Who starred in
"Dr. Syn?"
William Powell's
wife
Comic in "When
The Daltons
Rode"
Stems
A little child
High explosive:
abbr.
Open country
Mad girl in "They
Drive By Night"
Star of first
"Way Of All
Flesh"
First name of our
star
Bud Abbott's
comic partner
She's fun in
"Pride And
Prejudice"
Hint
Gr- - - Garbo
Encircle
Kildare Goes
Home"
"Information,
'Dr.
World War bat-
tlefield
-DOWN
-1. "The Great Dic-
tator"
2. Opposite "For-
eign Correspon-
dent"
3. Lofty mountain
4. The "Nancy
D - - w" series
5. Evelyn - - - - p
6. Spanish girl in
"Rangers Of For-
tune"
7. "- Johnny, How
You Can Love"
8. Zest
9. Stars meet at
C - - -'s
10. Wise-cracking
comedienne
Hal Roach's sad
comic
"The Great
McGin - -"
Constellation
He's in "Comin'
Round The
Mountain"
15. Bread mixer
16. Grain
19. Glacial ridge
22. For
24. Jessie thews
27. Hindu weight
28. Bryant
Unclaimed fan
letters go here:
abbr.
Director's call to
end scenes
35. Buster Keaton's
missile
37. Anger
39. Newcomer in
"River's End"
41. Initials of a ven-
triloquist
Actor in "Girl
From God's
Country"
Nothing
"Dr. Kildare"
Sidney
"There's Magic
In His Eyes" is
his next
11.
12.
13.
14.
30
33.
42
51. Mug
52. Exist
53. Dog, - - - Tin Tin
54. Ann Sheridan's
nickname
56. - - - Chaney, Jr.
57. Aide-de-camp:"
abbr.
58. Letter in alphabet
59. "Forty Little
Moth - - -"
63. Scolds
64. Norse god of war
65. Edith - - - lows
66. Actor: Phillip
69. Boy in "Swiss
Family Robin-
son"
70. M-G-M dancing
star
71. Command
73. Actor in "Turn-
about"
74. Tiny insect
75. Southern state:
abbr.
76. To the inside of
77. Falcons
78. Actress Arden
79. He's in "Those
Were The Days"
80. Sanction
81. Elaine Barrie was
called this
S2. Compass point
85. Great dramatic
actress
86. Musical exercise
88. RKO s new west-
ern hero
90. Small horse
94. Wire measures
95. He filmed North
Pole scenes
96. A signal for
soldiers
99. Girl's name
101. Cover
103. Jewel
105. "These Thr - -"
107. Actor in "Johnny
Apollo": init.
109. Behold
14
MODERN SCREEN
JOAN BENNETT IN THE EDW. SMALL FILM "THE SON OF MONTE CRISTO"
MOVIE REVIEWS
(Continued from page 11)
love story as well. You can't imagine Ro-
binson in a romantic mood? Well, then,
just look at him here in the scene where,
as a young man, he is madly in love with
Edna Best but is afraid to tell her so.
You will want to take them both in your
arms and hug them, they are so lovable.
Though the leads are in the hands of
Robinson and Miss Best— and capable
hands they are— much of the credit is
due Albert Basserman, the 72-year-old
gent who has been making a habit of
running away with pictures; Eddie Al-
bert, perfectly cast as Reuter's younger
brother, a dreamy, flibberty-gibberty
youngster who would rather write poetry
than attend to business; Gene Lockhart,
Otto Kruger, Nigel Bruce and Montagu
Love. Directed by William Dieterle.—
Warner Brothers.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The actors
and actresses, on an exact reproduction
of the Ford Theatre stage in Washington,
speak their lines from "Our American
Neighbors" just as they were delivered
the night Lincoln was assassinated . . .
Carrier pigeons used in the film knew
how to fly one way only — home — so sets
had to be reconstructed at their owner's
ranch, duplicating those built at the Bur-
bank studio . . . Largest set of the picture
was the wild, wind-swept Irish coast,
where laborers struggle to complete
the last section of Reuter's private tele-
graph wire . . . Robinson's make-up, less
elaborate than that used for "Dr. Ehrlich,"
still required an hour and a half to ap-
ply ... In honor of his tenth anniversary
of employment at Warners, the crew pre-
sented Director Dieterle with a bronze-
covered book of off-stage and production
stills from his old pictures.
Spring Parade
A few years ago this film would have
led the field without any possible
quibbling. It is Deanna Durbin's newest
film and should rank right along with the
marvelous septette that preceded it. But,
unfortunately, it bumps up against a
strange psychological factor. It is gay,
happy, full of life and fun — but it is set
in pre-war Vienna. Consequently, the
gayer it gets, the more happiness and life
it exudes, the sadder you feel, sitting
there in the theatre knowing that that
carefree, wonderful way of life is dead
and gone.
Joe Pasternak, the magician of Univer-
sal City, produced it, and it has all the
usual Pasternak touches; impeccable
taste, charm, vivacity. But for once, I
am afraid, Mr. Pasternak guessed wrong.
There was no reason to transport Deanna
to Vienna; she's a good American girl
and there are plenty of good American
stories that don't have that overtone of
tragedy.
Having gotten all of which oft our
chest, let us proceed to an examination
of the many things about this film which
are excellent. The story is a scatter-
brained little item about a peasant girl
(Deanna) who falls in love with a sol-
dier-drummer (Robert Cummings). His
trouble is that he wants to be a com-
poser but nobody will let him, and her
trouble is that she is just a country-maid
who can't get used to city ways. It is
that last which saves the day for both of
them, for Deanna, with refreshing dis-
regard for convention, goes directly to
(Continued on page 17)
I. Recently, Joan's hairdresser exclaimed,
"At the hairline, your skin is dry as
paper!" He advised a Woodbury Beauty
Nightcap. Now at bedtime Joan cleanses
with Woodbury Cold Cream. Pats on a
light film to soften skin overnight.
Your skin has its best chance to grow
refreshed while you sleep. So every night
at bedtime use 3-Way Woodbury Cold
Cream. 1. It cleanses . . . safely. 2. It
lubricates, releasing rich oils to soften dry
2. As her hairdresser predicted, Joan's
Woodbury Beauty Nightcap helps keep
her skin like velvet. At a "kid party"
some weeks later, Joan took the bow
when a toast was raised "To the girl
who looks as young as her 'get-up'."
skin. 3. It gently invigorates the skin,
cooling and refreshing as it cleanses. Get
a jar of 3-Way Woodbury Cold Cream to-
day! So little in cost ... so much for your
beauty! Only 31.00, 50*, 25*, 10* a jar.
MAIL NOW FOR GENEROUS TUBE . . . FREE!
(Paste on Penny Postcard)
John H.Woodbury, Inc., 6619 Alfred St., Cincinnati, Ohio
(In Canada) John H. Woodbury, Ltd., Perth, Ontario
Please send me, free and postpaid, a generous-size
tube of 3-Way Woodbury Cold Cream. Also 8 smart
shades of exquisite Woodbury Powder.
Name ■
Address
CLEANSES safely
Smooths as il LUBRICATES
INVIGORATES
WOODBURY COLD CREAM
THE 3-WAY BEAUTY CREAM
Night Time is "Beauty Refreshment" Time
DECEMBER, 1940
15
Mr. R —
makes a
Confession
Boss caught
most got fixed today. ^
Ute the awful stuff-
Tom told me to fn, r. T
turning tn for thTS^J some bef°™
Ex-lax worked f"«' " . ht> Boy.
The action of Ex-Lax is thorough,
yet gentle! No shock. No strain. No
weakening after-effects. Just an easy,
comfortable bowel movement that
brings blessed relief. Try Ex-Lax
next time you need a laxative. It's
good for every member of the family.
104 and 25<
MOVIE SCOREBOARD
(200 pictures rated this month)
Turn to our valuable Scoreboard when you're in doubt about what movie to see. The
"general rating" is the average rating of our critic and the authoritative newspaper
critics all over the country. means very good; good; 2^. fair; 1-^k;, poor.
C denotes that the picture is recommended for children as well as adults. Asterisk
shows that only Modern Screen rating is given on film not yet reviewed by news-
papers as we go to press.
Picture
General
Rating
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (RKO) C 41k
Alias the Deacon (Universal) iVzif
All This, and Heaven Too (Warners) 4 Ik
And One Was Beautiful (M-G-M) 2V2 ★
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (M-G-M) 3*
Ansel From Texas, An (Warners) 2 Ik
Anne of Windy Poplars (RKO) 2*
"Argentine Nights (Universal) 3lk
Babies For Sale (Columbia) 2y21k
Bad Men of Carson City (Universal) 2 +
Beyond Tomorrow (RKO) 2V21k
Bill of Divorcement, A (RKO) 3*
Biscuit Eater, The (Paramount) 31k
Black Diamonds (Universal) 2lk
Blondie on a Budget (Columbia) 2 it
Boom Town (M-G-M) 3V2lk
Boys from Syracuse, The (Universal) 3 Ik
Brigham Young — Frontiersman(20th Century-Fox). 3-k
Brother Orchid (Warners) 3*
Buck Benny Rides Again (Paramount) 3y2lk
Calling Philo Vance (Warners) 2V21k
Captain Is a Lady, The (M-G-M) 2V21k
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (20th Century-Fox). 3 ■*-
"Christmas in July (Paramount) 3
City for Conquest (Warners) 3V2ir
Comin' Round the Mountain (Paramount) 21k
Courageous Dr. Christian, The (RKO). 2*
Cowboy From Texas (Republic) 2 Ik-
Cross Country Romance (RKO) 2V2 Ik-
Curtain Call (RKO) 2%*
*Dance, Girl, Dance (RKO) 2 Ik-
Dark Command (Republic) 3 Ik-
Devil's Island (Warners) 2V21k
"Dispatch From Reuter's, A (Warners) 3V2k
Dr. Christian Meets The Women (RKO) 21k
Dr. Cyclops (Paramount) C 31k
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (Warners) 3V2*
Dr. Kildare Goes Home (M-G-M) 31k
Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (M-G-M) 2V2lt
Doctor Takes A Wife, The (Columbia) 3 Ik
Earthbound (20th Century-Fox) 2 Ik-
Edison, the Man (M-G-M) 3V2*
Flight Angels (Warners) 2V21k
Florian (M-G-M) .2V21k
Flowing Gold (Warners) 3lk
Foreign Correspondent (United Artists) 4 Ik-
Forty Little Mothers (M-G-M) 2V2 Ik-
Four Sons (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Free, Blonde and 21 (20th Century-Fox) 2*
French Without Tears (Paramount) 2V2 Ik-
Gambling on the High Seas (Warners) 2Vi^k
Ghost Breakers, The (Paramount) 3 Ik-
Girl from God's Country (Republic) 2 ik-
Girl in 313 (20th Century-Fox) 2V2*
Gold Rush Maisie (M-G-M) 2V21k
Gone With the Wind (M-G-M) 41k
Grapes of Wrath, The (20th Century-Fox) 41k
Great McGinty, The (Paramount) 3V21k
"Great Profile, The (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Half a Sinner (Universal) 21k
He Stayed for Breakfast (Columbia) 2 V2 Ik-
Hidden Gold (Paramount) 2l/21k
Hired Wife (Universal) 3 Ik-
Honeymoon Deferred (Universal) 2V2lk
Hot Steel (Universal) 2*
House of Seven Gables (Universal) 2V2 Ik-
Howards of Virginia, The (Columbia) 3y21k
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
(Universal) 2-*
If I Had My Way (Universal) C 3*
I Love You Again (M-G-M) 3*
I Married Adventure (Columbia) 3 Ik
In Old Missouri (Republic) 21k
Irene (RKO) 3*
Island of Doomed Men (Columbia) 2 Ik-
Isle of Destiny (RKO) 2*
I Take This Woman (M-G-M) 2*
It All Came True (Warners) 2V21k
I Was an Adventuress (20th Century-Fox) 2V2 Ik-
Johnny Apollo (20th Century-Fox) 3 Ik
La Conga Nights (Universal) 2lk
Ladies Must Live (Warners) 21k
Lillian Russell (20th Century-Fox) 3lk
Little Old New York (20th Century-Fox) 2*
Lone Wolf Meets A Lady, The (Columbia) 2*
Lucky Cisco Kid (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Lucky Partners (RKO) 3*
Mad Men of Europe (Columbia) 2 +
Ma! He's Making Eyes At Me (Universal) 2V21k
Man I Married, The (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Man Who Talked Too Much, The (Warners) 2V21k
Maryland (20th Century-Fox) 3V21k
Picture
General
Rating
Men Against the Sky (RKO) 3 Ik-
Midnight (Paramount) 3 ik-
Money and the Woman (Warners) 2V2 Ik-
Mortal Storm, The (M-G-M) 4lk
Mummy's Hand, The (Universal) 2V21k
Murder in the Air (Warners) 21k
My Favorite Wife (RKO) 3*
My Little Chickadee (Universal) 2V21k
My Love Came Back (Warners) SViik
My Son, My Son (United Artists) 3V21k
New Moon (M-G-M) 3*
*North West Mounted Police (Paramount) 3V21k
Northwest Passage (M-G-M) 4-*-
No Time for Comedy (Warners) 3 Ik
Oklahoma Kid, The (Warners) 3*
One Crowded Night (RKO) 2-*
One Million B. C. (United Artists) C 3*
Opened by Mistake (Paramount) 2 '/ilk
Our Town (United Artists) 4*
Outside 3-Mile Limit (Columbia) 2V21k
Out West With The Peppers (Columbia) C 2-*
Parole Fixer (Paramount) 2y21k
Passport to Alcatraz (Columbia) 2ilr
Pastor Hall (United Artists) 3V2 Ik-
Phantom Raiders (M-G-M) 2*
Pier 13 (20th Century-Fox) 2V21k
Pinocchio (RKO) C 41k
Pioneers of the Frontier (Columbia) 2-jt
Pop Always Pays (RKO) 2V21k
Prairie Law (RKO) 2*
Pride and Prejudice (M-G-M) 3V2 Ik-
Private Affairs (Universal) 2Vi*
Public Deb No. 1 (20th Century-Fox) 21k
Quarterback, The (Paramount) 2Vi*
Queen of the Mob (Paramount) 3 +
Ragtime Cowboy Joe (Universal) 2lk
Ramparts We Watch, The (March of Time-RKO).3y2*
Rangers of Fortune (Paramount) 3-jk
Rebecca (United Artists) 4lk
Rhythm on the River (Paramount) 3V2 Ik-
Road to Singapore, The (Paramount) 2V2^r
Safari (Paramount) iV2~k
Sailor's Lady (20th Century-Fox) 2*
Saint's Double Trouble, The (RKO) 2V2*
Saint Takes Over, The (RKO) 2V2*
Sandy Is a Lady (Universal) C 2% Ik-
Saturday's Children (Warners) 2V21k
Sea Hawk, The (Warners) 3%*
Sidewalks of London (Paramount Release) 3 +
Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot (Republic) 2*
Slightly Honorable (United Artists) 3*
South of Pago Pago (United Artists) 2V21k
South to Karanga (Universal) 2 V2 Ik-
Spirit of Culver, The (Universal) C 2V2k
Sporting Blood (M-G-M) 2V2lk
Spring Parade (Universal) C 31k
Stanley and Livingston (20th Century-Fox) 3V4lk
Star Dust (20th Century-Fox) 2V2*
Strange Cargo (M-G-M) 3 Ik
Stranger on the Third Floor (RKO) 3*
Strike Up the Band (M-G-M) C 3V21k
Stronger Than Desire (M-G-M) 2V21k
Susan and God (M-G-M) 3V2lk
Swiss Family Robinson (RKO) C 3*
Tear Gas Squad (Warners) 2 1k
They Drive by Night (Warners) 3lk
Those Were the Days (Paramount) C 2V21k
Three Faces West (Republic) 3*
Three Smart Girls Grow Up (Universal) C 3 It-
Thundering Frontier (Columbia) 2 Ik
'Til We Meet Again (Warners) 3*
Tom Brown's School Days (RKO) C 3-*
Torrid Zone (Warners) 3 1k
Tower of London (Universal) 2 Ik
Turnabout (United Artists) 3lk
Twenty Mule Team (M-G-M) 3 1k
Twenty-One Days Together (Columbia) 3 1k
Two Girls on Broadway (M-G-M) 2V21k
Typhoon (Paramount) 3 Ik
Untamed (Paramount) 2lk
Vigil in the Night (RKO) 31k
Waterloo Bridge (M-G-M) 3'/21k
Way of All Flesh, The (Paramount) 3lk
"•Westerner, The (United Artists) 31k
We Who Are Young (M-G-M) 3lk
When the Daltons Rode (Universal) 3lk
Women in War (Republic) 2V21k
Women Without Names (Paramount) 2Vi1k
You Can't Fool Your Wife (RKO) 21k
Young As You Feel (20th Century-Fox) 2lk
Young People (20th Century-Fox) C 2V21k
Young Tom Edison (M-G-M) C 4ik
16
MODERN SCREEN
(Continued from page 15)
the Emperor with her problems, and he
is so kindly, sweet and understanding
that everything turns out swell. (But
here, too, Mr. Pasternak, just a word
of reproach; there was no need to gush
so much about what a lovely old gent
the Emperor was; some of us can re-
member back twenty years or so, you
know.)
Deanna is darling, of course. She grows
histrionically with every film. Here she
is a flirtatious and charming young vixen,
with more poise, more appeal than ever
before. And Cummings, opposite her,
is an excellent choice, too. There are
very few young men in town who can
play a daft youngster quite as well as
Bob.
Next acting bow goes to S. Z. Sakall,
the Hungarian actor who was known in
pre-Hitler Europe as one of the top
players. He doggone near steals this film.
Anne Gwynne is another girl who is
destined to go places. She reminds one
a little of Marion Davies in her prime
with that roguish twinkle in her eye.
Her future depends on the kind of
material she's given in the next few
pictures.
There are a couple of lovely dance
routines, some beautiful photography and
four exciting songs, best of which is per-
haps "It's Foolish But It's Fun." Directed
by Henry Koster. — Universal.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: This is the
eighth picture to star Deanna Durbin, all
produced by Joe Pasternak . . . It is the
fifth Durbin picture to be directed by
Henry Koster . . . Three of the songs in
the film were written by Robert Stolz,
who made history with "Two Hearts in
Three Quarter Time" . . . This is the first
time Deanna has appeared in costume;
also the first time she does any dancing
to speak of; it took her (and 48 dancers)
two weeks to learn the strenuous czardas
dance which she does with Mischa Auer
. . . The scenes inside Emperor Franz
Josefs palace were made on the largest
interior set ever constructed at Univer-
sal; 800 dress extras, garbed in authentic
costumes of the period, are in this scene.
The Westerner
This is a swell, rip-roaring movie and
you'll enjoy it. But here's a shock! Gary
Cooper is the star— but Walter Brennan
runs away with the acting honors in his
(Continued on page 87)
Sweet V smooth are Nancy Kelly and
Vera West's designs for "Caribbean
Holiday," her latest stint.
DECEMBER, 1940
ENTREE DISH $15. Henley* design. One of the
most popular and useful pieces. The handle un-
locks so cover can be used for second dish.
'trade mark
GRAVY BOAT AND TRAY $ 1 0. Haddon* design.
Another ideal piece for gifts and personal use.
Designed by Oneida Community Silversmiths.
'iih
A masked adventurer . . .
the jagged mark of his
sword striking terror
into every heart hut hers!
LINDA
DARNELL
BASIL RATHBONE
GALE SONDERGAARD . EUGENE
PALLETTE . J. EDWARD BROMBERG
ROBERT LOWERY • CHRIS-PIN MARTIN
MONTAGU LOVE • JANET BEECHER
Associate Producer RAYMOND GRIFFITH • Directed by
ROUBEN MAMOULIAN • Screen Play by John Taintor
Foote • Adaptation by Garrett Fort • Based on the story
"The Curse of Capistrano" by Johnston McCulley
A TWENTIETH CENTURY- FOX PICTURE
18
MODERN SCREEN
She's a mail order bride in RKO's new comedy-drama. "They Knew What They Wanted"
HOLLYWOOD HEART TREATMENT
r„rv Cooper flet* h,s
Texos Ronaer Gory P Wade,eine j
te^^^HeGoddord pl°Ys
havocv,«h^eort
Dear Joan--
Got your note about the difficulties you are
having with Bill. That Reno-vation stuff is the
bunk. I've a better idea. Take him to the moving
pictures! Crazy? Not a bit of it. I've just glimpsed
two of the most powerful demonstrations of the
power of love even my experienced orbs have ever
seen. First, Paramount ' s amazing new Cecil B.
DeMille Technicolor drama of the big open spaces,
"North West Mounted Police." The old master has
managed to weave into his yarn about the gallant
red coats not one but two of the most convincing
love stories I've ever seen on the screen. Gary
Cooper in his best, and I mean best, role to date and
Preston Foster compete for the love of Madeleine
Carroll in a romance that'll have Bill dewy-eyed.
And Paulette Goddard and Robert Preston unravel
a love story that would send an iceberg into ther-
mostatic ecstatics.
If "North West Mounted Police" doesn't
succeed in mellowing him, and I'm sure it will, you
don't need to worry. Paramount ' s "Arise, My Love"
is just about the answer to the lovelorn' s prayer.
Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland make this
Mitch Leisen combination of the laughter of
"Midnight," the heart appeal of "Farewell to Arms,"
into THE love picture of the decade. It's tender.
It's titilating. It's terrific. Bill'll be holding your
hand before the end of the first reel ... kissing you
by the fifth.
But you get the idea... so watch for these two
great love pictures ... collect Bill ... and watch
'em knock Reno foolishness out of both your heads.
'Arise, my love, ond fly owoy with me!"
in.,pve in Poromount's "Ar.se, Wy Love.
Yours helpfully,
DECEMBER, 1940
2.5
Imagine Academy Award win-
ning Paul Muni being a "prob-
lem actor!" According to Di-
rector Dieterle, he's too studied,
too intense! What's more, he
lacks an artist's imagination!
Hollywood's most care-
fully guarded secrets
are out as the men be-
hind those megaphones
tell you amazing truths!
So you thought Joan Fon-
taine was a gorgeous genius!
Well, like most stars, she's
just a puppet, walking and
talking exactly as her Svengali
Alfred Hitchcock demands!
Director Al Hall was simply frantic. The cameras
stood poised. The bit players and extras waited. The
technicians hovered nervously.
For three hours the big scene in "Little Miss Marker"
had been delayed. In this scene, Shirley Temple was sup-
posed to burst into tears, which was simple enough except
for one minor obstacle — Miss Temple wasn't in the mood.
"You've got to cry!"! begged Director Hall for the two
hundredth time.
"But I don't want to cry," replied Shirley brightly. "I
feel happy."
Director Al Hall retired to a corner and, resembling
Rodin's Thinker, brooded. In a moment he emerged, a sly
smile on his face. An inspiration had been born. He
asked Mrs. Temple what family possession Shirley liked
most. Mrs. Temple mentioned the new car the family had
recently bought. Director Hall smacked his lips.
Five minutes later the phone rang. Director Hall put
the receiver to his ear and listened intently.
"What did you say, Mr. Temple?" he bellowed into the
phone. "What? Your new car? Smashed to bits?
Wrecked? In a ditch?"
Hall's quavering voice boomed through the quiet sound
stage. He hung up the receiver and turned to Shirley.
Her smile and dimples were gone. Her lips were tight.
Tears welled in her brown eyes. Suddenly she sobbed,
then began crying in earnest — and in that precious moment,
Director Hall propelled her before the prepared cameras —
and shot the scene!
After that historic example, if you still think that movie
stars make the movies great, if you still suffer the illusion
that Cary Grant or Vivien Leigh had more to do with the
success of their last flicker than their directors, well, come
with me, children, out of the valley of incredulity — and
meet and listen to the men who really make the movies.
To begin with, meet that blubbering, lethargic idea-
machine, that magician of mystery and suspense, soprano-
voiced, 290-pound Alfred Hitchcock. Now meet him again.
It always takes two introductions, there's so much of him.
While the great man settled himself into a chair like a
dirigible easing into a hangar, we reviewed rapidly what
we knew about him — that he was forty years old; that
he'd started Herbert Marshall in pictures, saved Madeleine
Carroll from obscurity by putting her in "Thirty-Nine
Steps," helped give Robert Donat a name, proved Joan
Fontaine was an actress; that his only exercise was walking
up flights of stairs; that he once sent four hundred smoked
herring to a friend on her birthday; that he ate steak and
ice cream together; and that, after consuming tea, he threw
the empty cup over his shoulder because it amused
everyone.
And now, sitting opposite us, Hitchcock gave, in tabloid
form, his philosophy of picture-making.
"My technique? Why, all I try to do is tell a story,"
explained Hitchcock, rubbing his third chin thoughtfully.
But the Hitchcock trade-mark is familiar. In one picture,
he sent his camera, in a single motion, down the stair-
case of a hotel, across the lobby, into the dining room — to
finish with a close-up of a man's eyes! In his first success,
"The Lodger," he had the camera follow a pair of white
hands down bannisters, flight after flight, until those hands
tightened around a woman's throat! At another time
he got into a battle with Sylvia Sidney because she wanted
to be seen in her big dramatic moment when she was to
stab her husband, and Hitchcock decided to photograph
only her fingers and the knife!
"Those are my favorite scenes, the ones I like most to
make," Hitchcock admitted. "Best of all, I like to photo-
graph a man's mind, all of his mental processes told purely
through his expressions. I directed Edmund Gwenn, as
the assassin, in just such a scene in 'Foreign Cor-
respondent.' "
A cup of coffee materialized. Hitchcock downed it in a
gulp and began speaking of personalities.
"I find it difficult to direct 'former stage stars. They're
often very bad, because they think only of projecting their
voices instead of facial expressions and pantomime. I
should like very much to work with Spencer Tracy. I
don't think he has any bad camera habits, and I think he
could play any character on earth without too much di-
rectorial effort.
"And you know, I've learned your glamour girls here
aren't so glamorous. Whenever I see them, they seem to be
eating hot dogs. I remember working with Joan Fontaine.
She was quite eccentric. Always seemed to be eating. A
fine girl though. Brilliant future. (Continued on page 62)
BY IRVING WALLACE
According to Ben Hecht,
Doug Fairbanks, Jr. is
ashamed of acting! He
thinks it's just child's
play, and has to swal-
low his pride before he
can really give out!
25
The most
maligned
woman in
Hollywood
Cary Grant said hotly, "If anybody's entitled to say any-
thing about Katharine Hepburn, I am. I know what she's like,
for I've made three pictures with her; this is my fourth. And
I say she's the most maligned woman in Hollywood history!
As an actress, she's a. joy to work with. She's in there trying
every minute. There isn't anything passive about her; she
'gives.' And as a person, she's real. There's no pretense about
her. She's the most completely honest woman I've ever met."
Glowering darkly, Cary added, "The trouble is, people who
know her don't write stories about her. The stories are all "
written by people who don't have the faintest idea what the
girl's like, people who have never even met her."
It sounded as if he had the notion that writers had avoided
meeting Hepburn for the past four or five years. Didn't he
know that, as far as the Press was concerned, the lady was
unapproachable?
"Tommyrot," said Cary. .
It was barely possible that he was right and the Press wrong.
Or that she had changed. So I asked for a Hepburn interview.
Back in her RKO days, such a request was greeted with
morose head-shakings by the entire publicity department; the
answer was that Hepburn talked only with God. M-G-M
blithely took the request in stride. Sure, she'd talk. Just when,
they didn't know. Maybe not till she finished "The Philadel-
phia Story," because she was working every day. But she'd
talk.
And she did! What's more, she made a special trip into the
studio to be interviewed — Hepburn, the unapproachable.
I had been warned that she was painfully shy and self-
conscious with strangers. The warning was belied by her
greeting: a cheery "hello," a straightforward handshake, a
warm smile.
Until this meeting, I had seen her only at a distance. Consequently, I didn't know what to expect in a close-up, minus
make-up. I found a tall girl, very slight, not given to curves. At least, the white slacks and white open-neck shirt she
was wearing didn't reveal any. Her face was thin, ascetic and covered with freckles — unashamed, tomboyish freckles.
Her hair, worn in a long loose bob, was dark auburn. Her eyes were either bluish-green or greenish-blue, and alert.
Watching Katharine as she talked, I thought of Cary's description: "She gives." Her face was expressive, not a
mask. She spoke quickly, definitely, without hesitation. She left no doubt that she meant what she said.
I proffered her a cigarette. She started to take it, then noticed the brand, and said, "Thanks, but I think I'll have
one of my own." This phenomenal Hepburn woman is definite even about what she smokes.
After our cigarettes were lighted, I told her that I was there
to check up on — and, perhaps, correct — a few illusions of what
she was like.
She laughed. (She has an odd, short laugh.) "That sounds
ominous," she said. "It reminds me of a fan I once had. This
boy developed a violent crush on me after seeing one of my
pictures. To him, if to nobody else, I was Glamour Girl No. 1.
He lived for the day when he could see me in person. And
She's (| 21l*illgj>! SIl©'S Whacky I one day he did see me. Someone pointed me out to him. And
what he said was, 'I don't know who that is, but it ain't
Hepburn!' "
In other words, she never knew what reaction to expect
from people when they learned the truth about her — but she
But she's terrifically honest — was prepared for anything.
How did she explain her hermit tendencies? Was she "pain-
fully shy," as rumored?
She frowned comically. "Call me anything but 'a shy actress.'
Everyone's sick of the species. Shyness has been used to excuse
too many sins. It has become the popular explanation for
every kind of conduct. Everyone is becoming so shy, you
don't know how they get on at all.
"My father says, 'I don't understand shyness in the young.
None of my children ever wanted to go to a party unless they
were going to be either a bride or a corpse.' And I'm afraid
he's right.
"I'm not leary of other people. The explanation for me is
I'm leary of myself. I get frightful nervous indigestion. Prac-
tically everything or anything can give it to me. But espe-
cially throngs of people. At parties I'm in agony. Maybe" —
she laughed again — "maybe I'm terrified I'll be neither the
bride nor the corpse.
"All this isn't something new with me. I've been cursed with
it all my life. As a youngster, whenever (Continued on page 67)
so when Hepburn dishes the
dirt, you can bet it's on the level
BY JAMES REID
DECEMBER, 1940
27
HOLLYWOOD, that perennial cry-baby, is in the
throes of the weeps again. Tears are flowing co-
piously and earnestly. It seems this time, that there
just are not men enough to go around — either
professionally or socially. Movie moguls, movie gals and
the movie socialites are all in a panic. No men! And what
are they going to do about it?
Well now, actually, the question is not what are they
going to do about it, of course. First, the question is—
how come? Is this something new? And if so, why?
Thinking about this for a moment, we realize that
socially, the man market in Hollywood is considerably more
complicated than it is in a normal city. A male star doesn't
simply find a nice girl and marry her. "When he starts his
career he hasn't the money; when he has the money he
can't find the girl — largely because he doesn't trust most
of them. His pride prevents him from dating a star who
earns more than he does, while he is on the road up. Once
he has arrived, his snobbery prevents him from dating a
girl who is beneath him.
Put yourself in the kid's position for a minute. His
studio, his agent, his publicity man and his business man-
ager all have something to say about his heart murmurs.
And you, his fans, have a great deal to say about the girl
he chooses to be seen with, too. Every time he buys a
girl an ice cream soda he literally puts his career into
jeopardy.
Hollywood prefers bachelors. But they must be good
boys and not get into trouble or the newspapers. The result
is that the marriageable men take refuge in a sort • of
implied engagement to a girl, or an engagement that implies
eventual marriage. The ones who are married but are not
working at it remain married legally in order to protect
themselves from a too swift and ruinous re-marriage. Such
tangled ties and vague but still threatening undercurrents
surround every otherwise completely eligible man. You
could safely say, in fact, without fear of contradiction that
there are few really eligible bachelors in this movie town.
You don't believe it? Look at the fist for a moment and
study some of the outstanding cases.
Cary Grant: He has been rumored serious about Bar-
bara Hutton. For years he kept Phyllis Brooks as a wall
between himself and predatory females. He is definitely in
the higher social brackets and not in the general run. He
is also pretty usually a one-woman man.
Jack Carson: Just bursting through to success after his
click in Ginger Roger's new picture, "Lucky Partners,"
although he's been around a long time. Married to Kay
St. Germaine. Screen future swell. Socially, nil, unless
you want to invite the missus, too.
Richard Carlson: Matured, the quiet, intellectual type,
getting a break in "Too Many Girls" and "The Howards of
Virginia." Has not progressed as rapidly as he might have;
maybe because he handpicks his roles and hopes to quit
acting altogether as soon as he can get himself started as
a director. Practically useless, socially. Served as a pub-
licity escort once for Janet Gaynor. Had a short and swift
romance with Ann Sheridan. Then married a New York
model and settled down.
Vaughn Paul: Definitely a good marriage bet, on his
way to becoming a Universal producer, but tied hook, line
and sinker to Deanna Durbin.
Howard Hughes: Supposedly going to marry Ginger
Rogers. Has escorted Gene Tierney and numerous others,
including Madeleine Carroll, but is pretty cagey. Definitely
not a guy a girl could call up in a pinch.
John Payne: Newly arrived in "Maryland" and "The
Great Profile." Married to Anne Shirley and father of a
baby daughter. His domestic tranquility, his well-bred
intellectual personality, have kept him from overnight
success. Now he's on the ascending path, a credit to the
industry, but a total loss to lonesome gals.
Dennis O'Keefe: A good marriage bet, but almost ex-
clusively the property of Steffi Duna.
Richard Greene: Tagged romantically by the English star
Virginia Field, for more than a year. Then came the wai
Hollywood's bachelor brigade is lovely to look
at, but impossible to put in a marrying mood!
9R
MODERN SCREEN
Bob Sterling, 24, ambitious,
irresistible smile. Seldom
dates for financial reasons.
HHHBMKHfiHHS
Jeff Lynn, 31, interested in
almost everything, but hates
night clubs. Good listener.
George Brent, 36, mature,
intriguingly unpredictable.
A confirmed cynic. Moody.
Jimmy Stewart: Set for a high place in the film capital.
Also seems to be set for marriage with Olivia de Havilland.
Laurence Olivier: A welcome addition to Hollywood
from a screen-casting standpoint, but tagged by Vivien
Leigh before he ever set foot in the place. Local girls
didn't have a chance.
Bob Preston: A newcomer with box office appeal; flamed
into romantic print with Dorothy Lamour; supposed to be
engaged to Kay Feltus; future not really jelled yet. A
possibility here for some smart girl who knows the ropes,
but she'll have to be clever!
Dave Rose: A musical arranger with a good career ahead
of him in pictures. Received considerable publicity through
his marriage to and divorce from Martha Raye. Recently
has been escorting Judy Garland. In the market for
marriage.
Randolph Scott: Has a well-furnished niche in Holly-
wood's Hall of Fame, but legally married in spite of any-
thing you may hear to the contrary.
Richard Ainley: Just arrived from Eastern Little Theatre.
Exclusive property of Constance Bennett as this was being
written. (These arrangements have a way of changing,
you know.) Definitely unavailable for general escort ser-
vice for the time being.
Gilbert Roland: Stock somewhat up cinematically at the
moment. Severed from la Bennett. An accepted escort,
but fairly choosy. He picks the gals, they don't pick him.
George Raft: Still married. After Norma Shearer, who
has the courage to try to get (Continued on page 90)
Bill Holden, 22, blond Vik-
ing type. Wholesome, ap-
pealing, unspoiled by fame.
Bill Lundigan, 26, shy, chiv-
alrous, intelligent. Is defi-
nitely an idealist. Dimples!
hunt is
on!
BY JAMES CARSON
Victor Mature, 28, sophisti-
cated, a sender of orchids,
thern accent. Conceited
Robert Wilcox, 31, flashy,
glamorous. Has a vaguely
sinister look. Philanderer.
DECEMBER, 1940
21
Here for the first time, you have
the real story behind the break-up
of the tempestuous Artie Shaws!
BY HERBERT RADDEN
There was nothing wrong with the Lana Turner-Artie
Shaw marriage, they say in Hollywood, that a good mir-
acle wouldn't have cured. In a town where stars divorce
so frequently that most of them have charge accounts in
the divorce courts, this particular bust-up stood out like
a, sore thumb. What's more, it gave countless "I told
you so-ers" a corroborative status they'd never had before.
There was scarcely a soul in the film colony, at the time
of the hectic elopement, who didn't foresee the marriage's
early end, with guesses as to its duration ranging from
two to six months.
But while everyone felt the break was inevitable, no
one knew what would cause it. Few know even now!
But before lining up the causes for the break, let's flash
back to the events leading up to the wildest, most contra-
dictory romance of any Hollywood year.
Lana and Artie met for the first time in 1939 during the
filming of "Dancing Co-ed" when they immediately dis-
covered they had something in common— an intense dislike
for each other! To him, she was simply another "jitterbug
chick" he'd heard or read about. To her, he was just a
Their Valentine's Day marriage got off
to a gay start, but six months later
Lana was tired of laughing at Artie's
old jokes, wearing subdued colors
(he hated red — her favorite), and be-
ing called "Turner" and "Carrots."
band leader with a head as large as a bass drum. Column-
ists generally made the most of this delightful feud, par-
ticularly since it wasn't studio manufactured.
Lana at the time was very happy with Gregson Bautzer,
young Hollywood attorney. They were the most talked
of, most photographed, most widely written about couple
in town. They enjoyed doing the things they liked to-
gether, and maintained a sensible balance of night clubs,
outdoor life and intellectual diversion. And, what was very
important to both, they were extremely popular with the
press and photographers covering the Hollywood front.
Artie, during the corresponding period, was cavorting
around with Betty Grable (who carried torches in both
hands when he eloped). When Shaw was not busy seeing
Betty, he found time to make the word "jitterbug"
synonymous with "moron," in appreciation of all that
jitterbugs had done to put him where he was. As far as
marrying into any popular press relationship, Shaw pre-
ferred being a bachelor.
To understand the next stage in the Shaw-Turner
horror-scope, you must know the individuals. Those close
to him say that Shaw is one of the swellest persons you
could ever meet — if you only have to meet him once! After
that he's an act. Friends regard him as a would-be in-
tellectual. In all matters concerning Shaw and society,
Shaw gets first billing. If it's not given to him, he takes
it. He is the ultimate in egotism; he likes good conversation,
but to him good conversation begins and ends with Shaw.
He's like the actor who said to a friend, "Oh, I've been
talking about myself for hours. Let's talk about you now
— what do you think of my pictures?"
Shaw has had a substantial education and is basically
well-read. But when he's in the company of anyone with
an admittedly inferior background — he is the first to take
advantage. He delights in tantalizing such people by
paving the way for them to say something insipid.
He hates corny musicians. He hates autograph seekers
and won't sign his name to anything. It probably hurts
him to sign his name to a check. Intimates say he does
not have the first dollar he earned, but only because that
large-type bill has since been withdrawn from circulation!
In all business matters, he's (Continued on page 83)
31
wsaWth«-imedoesn.
Celluloid Black Sheep Hum)
ords- ««r
tUe road to r«i
Beware of a hubby with a hobby, says Mayo Methot.
Last year she gave "The Bogeyman," as she calls
Humph, a camera for a birthday-Christmas pres-
ent (he was born Dec. 25, 1900) and he's been
working her and Butch, the dog, overtime ever since!
BY GEORGE BENJAMIN
"There must be a little guy somewhere named Ye-
hudi, sort of watching out for me," says Humphrey Bogart,
talking out of the corner of his mouth that's twisted up-
ward in an ironic grin.
This is his explanation for his sudden rise to stardom
after all these years. The Big Event takes place in "High
Sierra," the picture over which Warners and Paul Muni
parted company. Muni walked out. Bogie stepped in.
Now the wags are calling him Humphrey "Weisenfreund"
(Muni's real name). Wig manufacturers and purveyors of
false beards, egged on by pranksters, are sending him
samples of their wares. Everyone's wondering if he's going
to start stealing Muni's stuff.
The answer is no. The make-up department has greyed
his black hair slightly at the temples, but otherwise his
appearance is unchanged. He still looks like a hard citizen.
He's still carrying the prop revolver he has carried since
way back. In fact, he's still playing a killer. But this
time, the role is the biggest, juiciest one in the picture —
meaty enough for an Academy Award winner!
Bogie doesn't mind that they originally thought of it as
"something different for Muni." All that matters to him
is that they eventually got around to thinking of it as
Bad
something different for Bogart — a chance for bad boy to
make good.
"An awful lot of things had to happen before I could
get that role," he says. "But they did happen and that's
why I think there must be a busy little man somewhere
named Yehudi, who sort of plans things.
"Warners wanted me to go East and do six weeks of
personal appearances with 'They Drive By Night.' I
thought I ought to dp it, just for practice. But Yehudi
didn't think so. He made me haggle over terms. While I
was still haggling, they sent George Raft instead. Then
Muni walked out of 'High Sierra.' If George had been here,
they would have given the role to him. As it was, they
handed it to me.
"It's a funny thing about me," he mused. "Any time I
think it's wise to do something, that turns out to be the
one thing I shouldn't have done. The things I feel I
shouldn't do always turn out for the best. It's been that
way all my life. I'm getting around to the idea there's
a pattern to it."
He shakes his head over the strange unreliability of his
hunches.
"Why, I'm the guy who thought 'They Drive By Night'
MODERN SCREEN
Pay? and the
w«ges of sin
is death?
phrey Bogart's making them eat their
has led Him
.dht to stardom,
straight i"
Boy Makes Good
would be a lousy picture and that the script for 'The
Roaring Twenties' was no good!"
Mrs. Bogart (Mayo Methot), who's having lunch with
us at the Lakeside Country Club, chimes in to say,
"Warners ought to put Bogie on the advisory board that
decides what stories would make good pictures. All the
stories he doesn't like should be produced immediately."
"Yeah," says Bogie, appreciatively. "One time on the
stage, I had a choice between a Joe Cook show and a little
play called 'The Cradle-Snatchers.' My wisdom and my
inclination said, 'Pick the Cook show. It has a big name for
a. star, it's a musical, and it will probably run a long time.'
I still don't know why I picked the other. All I know is that
the Cook show died on its tryout, never even got to Broad-
way, and 'The Cradle-Snatchers' ran two years.
"Another time, I hadn't worked all season. I said, 'I've
got to get a little dough, if I want to go to Maine this
summer.' So I stopped being fussy and took a role in a
'whodunit' mystery that I hoped nobody I knew would ever
see me in. That's how much I thought of it. I played
a heavy — something I'd never done before. I pulled wings
off flies and led the audience to suspect I was the murderer.
They didn't find out till the end of the third act that Rex
O'Malley was the guilty guy!" He grinned reminiscently.
"Arthur Hopkins, the producer, came to see somebody
else in the show. He remembered me in it. A few months
later, when he was getting ready to produce 'The Petrified
Forest,' he sent for me. When I dropped into his office,
Robert E. Sherwood — -who wrote the play and who was
a friend of mine — was there. Hopkins said to me, 'I've got
a good role for you. A gangster role.' Sherwood spoke
up and said, 'Why, you must be crazy. He doesn't fit that
part at all! What he ought to do is the part of the football
player.' They argued back and forth, and I thought Sher-
wood was right. I couldn't picture myself playing a
gangster.
"So what happened? I made a hit as the gangster. When
Warners bought the play, they hired me to repeat my role
on the screen. That's how I happened to get into the
movies. And I've been busy ever since. Typed as a bad
guy, yes. But busy."
He knocks on the table, to call Yehudi's attention to the
fact that he's appreciative. Then he turns his own atten-
tion to his lunch for a few minutes. When he's ready to
talk again, he says:
"I wasn't even responsible for (Continued on page 70)
DECEMBER, 1940
33
0 c^vv,|xjc£e4^^ t^cnx5«^> . ~
Throwing some light on a beautiful subject— Linda Darnell
a.
The other day, on the set of
"Chad Hanna," Linda's mother and
small brother and sister were busily
occupied, keeping an eye on "Weedy!"
Weedy is Linda's pet rooster, son of
a pink-tinted Easter chick given her
last Easter-tide by Ty Power, and
he's making his acting debut in
Linda's new film. Weedy's toe-nails
and beak are lacquered with red nail
enamel. He walks around Linda's
house exactly like a pet dog or cat
and he comes when you call his name.
Linda also has three turtles of the
native Texas variety which she has
taught to swim fancy strokes in the
bath-tub. She thinks it would be fun
to be a lion trainer!
When she flew to Salt Lake City
for the premiere of "Brigham
Young," she had her first realization
of what it means to be a star. 150,000
people were on the streets; 150,000
pairs of admiring eyes were focused
MODERN SCREEN
on her; frightening applause rang
in her ears. The responsibility of
stardom suddenly took form and
shape. To keep faith with all these
people, she thought, is a task not to
be taken lightly.
Linda has never been kissed — off
the screen. She believes that kissing
a man is part of being engaged.
"They all ask me to kiss them," she
admits, "but I always say, 'Let's wait
a couple of months and see how we
feel then.' At the end of two or three
months, I — well, I'm glad we didn't."
Her hobby is drawing, and Linda
specializes in pastels. She did one
of Peverell Marley, her cameraman,
which Pev's wife has hanging in the
Marley living-room. She did one of
Tyrone, one of Walter Lang, who di-
rected her in "Star Dust," and one
of a cunning black and white cocker
spaniel which has merited the high-
BY JEANNE K Alt IS
est praise from accredited artists.
The studio calls her "The Little
Hays Office" because she is that par-
ticular about her clothes, her stills
and the things she does. Modesty is
her watchword. She recently taught
Frank Swann a new jitterbug step,
and the lessons were photographed
for a magazine layout. Feeling that
the step revealed more of one shapely
young limb than was quite seemly,
Linda "killed" the sitting. She is con-
siderably perturbed because in her
latest picture she has to wear a cot-
ton frock without a petticoat!
Linda is scared to death of radio
microphones. She doesn't like any-
thing she can't see and touch, such
as the unseen audience of the air.
And she's also afraid of the dark. So
that she won't have to come home
to a darkened house, Linda always
leaves the lights on in her bedroom.
Her mother's pet name for her is
"Tweedles." She calls her mother
"Mama." When you see her playing
with the neighborhood children and
their pets, you realize how young she
is. Rabbits are her favorite pets but,
ironically, they give her hay fever!
"A Dream Come More Than True"
is the way Linda describes her year
and a few months in California, for
Hollywood has held no disillusion-
ment for her. She never had to fight
for good parts. Seven "plums" have
been literally laid in her lap. Every-
one has helped her and seemed eager
to do it, she says. There have been
no headaches, no hindrances. "It's
been pure Heaven," Linda adds
happily.
A home movie-making maniac,
Linda cuts her pictures, develops
them, prints them and processes
them from start to finish herself. She
spends more time behind the camera
than in front of it while on the sets
and on location trips. During the
making of "The Mark of Zorro," Ty-
rone wanted to know whether he was
starring in a Darryl Zanuck Pro-
duction or in "Darnell Pictures, Inc!"
Pev Marley says she is the most
flawlessly beautiful girl in pictures.
Every angle is perfect. She couldn't
look anything but beautiful, he says,
even if she made faces.
Her full name is Linda Monette
Eloyse Darnell. She was born in
Dallas, Texas, on October 16, 1923
and is the third from youngest in a
family of four girls and two boys.
Linda claims, "Being one of a big
family is wonderfully helpful. It cer-
tainly knocks conceit right out of
you!" She is five feet, four and three-
quarters inches tall, weighs ' 109
pounds, has night-black hair, brown
brilliants for eyes, golden tan skin
and tooth paste ad teeth. She's never
had a permanent, never dyed her
hair and never uses any make-up
outside the studio. Not even lip-
stick. She doesn't need to, for Na-
ture, prodigal with Linda, gave her
naturally scarlet lips, too.
"I'd like to say one special thing
to girls," she told me. "It's this: don't
you believe that 'opportunity knocks
but once.' It's not so. If you just
keep your chin up and your ears
pasted to the door, you'll hear op-
portunity knocking again and again."
Linda, you know, had to come to
Hollywood three times before she was
asked to stay.
Reading in bed at night is her
favorite indoor sport. She can't read
(Continued on page 85)
DECEMBER, 1940
35
He hates parties, rhnmbas and cocktails. A
dyed in the wool sonr-pnss? Far from it!
Jnst Bob Cnmmings. a gny with different ideas
who's found a new and thrilling way of life
Fun is where you
This is, let me sound the warning right at the
start, a different kind of story because Robert Cum-
mings is an unusual sort of fellow. He doesn't talk
about any of the things that actors commonly discuss,
but about flying, about conscription, about the fact
that Hollywood is not a democracy, about his theory
of how peace will come. In everything he said, there
were overtones of a different perspective, a new aware-
ness of what is important and what isn't.
We were lunching at Eaton's Ranch the day we
talked, driving the few miles from the studio to the
Ranch in Bob's dark red sports job (top down) which
has, amazingly enough, the right-hand drive, English-
wise.
"Made for the English market;" Bob explained.
"Now, of course, they're not shipping them over and
BY GLADYS HALL.
Bob says he has two pets, Spinach III, his
plane, and Susie Q, a ring-tailed monkey.
have a lot of them on their hands. Consequently, I
was able to get this one for $600 less than the regula-
tion price." Smart? Yes. Very.
We lunched in the enclosed patio at Eaton's, and
Bob, to my astonishment, ordered nothing but fresh
fruits and vegetables!
"Ha," I said, "gastronomically abnormal, I see! I'm
used to red-meat-eating actors. Bob Taylor always
eats steak for luncheon; George Raft does, too; Clark
Gable—"
Bob laughed. "I lead the clean life! Matter of fact,
we are vegetarians, Viv and I," ("Viv" being Mrs.
Robert Cummings, nee Vivian Janis, these past five
years) "except when we have guests. Then we join
them over the fatted calf or barbecued beef, feeling
like cannibals. And we're dyspeptic for days there-
after!
"We really do lead an abnormal life. We never go
to night clubs except under pressure from the pub-
licity department, and we only succumb to that a
couple of times a year. Then we go to the Victor
Hugo and have a whirl at doing a kind of a rhumba.
We don't know what the inside of Chasen's looks like,
or Ciro's. That's being abnormal, in Hollywood! We're
not chummy with very many picture people. Most of
our friends are fliers and my best friend out here is
my lawyer and manager. I don't drink, ever. I smoke
very seldom. We rarely go to the movies. We never go
to the races or to the polo matches. We spend all of
our spare time flying.
"Viv is as abnormal for a girl as I am for a man.
She can't be persuaded to buy a piece, of jewehy or
even a new dress, except when actual necessity dictates.
She'd rather spend her time making out a chart for
our week-end trip. Just how much baggage we'll be
carrying, how much time we'll spend here or there,
exactly what minute of what hour we should be flying
over this or that river or mountain range, visibility,
ceiling, head winds and cloud conditions — all that sort
of thing must be written down in easy, legible form
"Viv," his wife, studies rushes from "Ca-
ribbean Holiday" and seems to approve!
8ob was once a caddy, grew to hate the
sight of a club, but plays occasionally now.
find it
before taking off. That's fun for us. Flying somehow
makes us realize how important time is, so that we who
fly learn not to squander it on things that don't really
matter to us.
"The fact that I am able to say 'us' about every-
thing," Bob said gratefully, "is very significant. Only
marriages based on mutual interest and understanding
can work out successfully today. I was married once
before, you know, to a little girl from my home town
of Joplin, Missouri. She was very sweet, very young,
but she'd never been far away from home and couldn't
understand the theatre or its people. We had such a
hard time, living in one room, no money, all that sort
of thing, that in the end, with no malice on either
side, she went home to her mother.
"But to return to the question of our abnormality.
We are not blue stockings, recluses, intellectuals or
any of the popular types that shun the pastimes of
the younger set. It's just that our interests and plea-
sures he in other directions.
"I suppose the fact is I have two careers, flying and
acting. And one is as important to me as the other.
I love bomb-sites, controllable propellers and my blind
flying instruments as well as I do scripts, cameras,
sound stages, make-up boxes and the sight of my name
in electric lights. Funny thing, though," mused Bob,
"when you're up there, ten or fifteen thousand feet
high, seeing your name in electric fights just doesn't
seem very important."
Bob's flying is no mere hobby. He has been at it
for more than ten years and is a lieutenant in the
Reserve Air Corps. He holds not only a pilot's license
but one with Instructor's Rating, the only license of
its kind to be held by an amateur pilot. He is, in addi-
tion, a licensed radio operator with a station in his
own ship (a Cessna, four-passenger, cabin monoplane)
complete with a radio transmitter and receiver.
"Flying," Bob was saying, "minimizes the importance
of a lot of things. For example, I could become very
annoyed with Hollywood; it's not a democracy but a
Took up flying right after Lindy's fa-
mous flight — when he was in his teens.
dictatorship. When you realize that the $16.50 a day
'dress' extras wouldn't dream of associating with the
$5.00 a day 'crowd' extras, you know we live in a
rigid caste system here.
"Not only that, but we are under control every sec-
ond and have nothing to say about anything we do.
Take my own case. If I go on the radio, I have to
give 50% of what I make to the studio. If the studio
doesn't want me to go on the air, I can't go on the afr!
The studio dictates the whole policy of my life. It
can even tell me where to go evenings!
"I could work up a healthy little inferiority complex
because Allan Jones, let's say, (he and Irene are good
friends of ours) has a swimming pool, stables, a way
of living I can't hope to compete with. This might
make me miserable if greater causes and effects didn't
remind me that it really doesn't matter too much.
"There are other bogeymen in Hollywood; one of
them is the mistaken reputation we get of having
great wealth. Salesmen of lots, bonds and diamond
mines waylay you at every turn, and you have to learn
to say 'no' in every language!
"Then there is the sure knowledge that when we're
through in this business there is almost no other occu-
pation open to us. Let me (Continued on page 78)
DECEMBER, 1940
37
BRENDA MARSHALL was still new on the Warner
Brothers lot when she entered the studio's Green
Room one day for luncheon. Over there in the
far corner she espied a shining white empty table.
She seated herself and was ordering, when in came Jimmy
Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh who pulled up
chairs to join her.
They were wonderful, Brenda found; treated her just
like one of themselves! How nice and chummy of them,
she thought, to come over and sit with me when they might
have taken a less secluded table. And here I am an un-
known and not even acquainted with them yet! After all
the stories she'd heard, too, about stars and actors being
uppity to strangers. Brenda felt warm and friendly all
over.
Later, she learned she had barged in on Cagney's re-
served table, the one at which he'd been taking lunch for
years! Cagney and the others had been polite enough not
to mention the fact that girls traditionally never sat at that
particular table!
Brenda still blushes furiously whenever she thinks of
the episode. But that was only one of many embarrassing
moments in her rise to stardom! Becoming a star, she's
learned, has taken its toll. It isn't all glory.
Take the evening she attended a Warner's preview, for
instance. On the way out of the theatre, she signed her
name to fifteen or twenty autograph albums pushed into
her hands. This was fun, being recognized and asked to
sign your name, better by far than ordering about the
natives on your father's plantation in the Philippines.
A moment later, dismay suffused her. She heard a fan
shout, "There's Olivia de Havilland! Let's get her auto-
graph." And immediately the fan, followed by two others,
charged over to Brenda and held out autograph books!
Shortly after being placed under contract by the studio,
Brenda received instructions to drop over to the photo-
graphic gallery for a sitting, her first on the lot.
Instantly, there flashed into her mind the glamorous
portraits she'd seen of other players, in swanky evening
gowns, smart afternoon and sports attire; exotic shots
which spelled allurement and romance. She arrived at the
gallery practically breathless at the prospect of turning into
a glamour queen. This, she thought ecstatically, is the life!
Poor Brenda! She was put into some kitchen things,
handed a pumpkin pie, and — horrors — was told to ride a
turkey! All the studio wanted were a few Thanksgiving
pictures, and not one solitary glamour pose was shot.
One evening during the run of "Espionage Agent," her
initial picture, Brenda made a personal appearance in con-
juction with the film at a beach town. Arriving home late
from the studio, she barely had time to change and rush
into a blue crepe dress before a studio car called for her.
She hastily pulled on an old coat and hurried out to the
automobile, feeling far from smart.
But her horror and embarrassment knew no bounds
when she stepped out onto the stage and discovered that
in her hurry, she had put on her dress inside out!
Her young daughter was responsible for one of Brenda's
more narrowing moments. She had taken the little girl
for her first visit to the studio, where a dramatic scene
from • "The Sea Hawk" was being enacted before the
camera. They stood in the background, but close enough
so that the small one could see everything that went on.
During the rehearsal of the scene, the whole stage had
been lighted, behind the cameras as well as on the set
itself. When the actual "take" was called, however, only
the set was illuminated, the other lights dimming.
Just as the players were swinging into action — Errol
Flynn walking down the throne room to where Queen
Elizabeth, in the person of Flora Robson, sat on the dais,
and with all else dead quiet — Brenda's infant, terrified by
the whole thing, gave a blood-curdling yell which carried
over the entire stage. The "take" was completely ruined,
and Brenda didn't linger on after the commotion died down.
One of Brenda's most embarrassing moments occurred
during a visit to. New York when, with a friend, she met
Errol Flynn in a night club.
Now, she knew Errol only very slightly, but she did
know she was to be his leading lady in "The Sea Hawk."
What distressed her, however, and threw her into a perfect
panic, was the fact that, when she saw him approaching
her table, she didn't know whether it was proper to intro-
duce him as Errol or as Mr. Flynn. She managed to mutter
something unintelligible, Errol acknowledged the mumble-
jumble graciously and all ended happily. But it was cer-
tainly a terrifying moment] (Continued on page 80)
If yon, too, are a puller of boners,
you'll appreciate these blushable
high spots of Brenda's career!
Twenty-five-year-old Brenda claimed she was "through
with men forever" when she filed suit for divorce, but
Bill Holden (3 years her junior) has changed her mind!
MODERN SCREEN-
DECEMBER, 1940
39
It's a matter of give 'n' take in
thrills, as Hollywood's gay blades
turn ont for this premiere on ice
Irene Dunne beams now that husband
Francis Griffin has given up his N. Y.
practise. Up to now, hp's been commut-
y ing to his Manhattan dentist's office!
Dancer George Murphy and wife
take lessons in skating the light fan-
tastic from the Follies retinue on
opening night. Tempted to swap his
dancing pumps for a pair of skates,
George went around backstage after
the performance was over to find out
just exactly what the chances were.
Ronnie Reagan, who spends
his spare moments modeling
for the art students at U.C.L.A.,
played hookey for the occa-
sion. The former sports an-
nouncer never misses an event
like this — and he doesn't mind
^ the autograph hunters a bit.
40
MODERN SCREEN
A bleacher seat at the World Series may be somebody's
idea of heaven, but we'll take a box at the Ice Follies
for our money! Sonja Henie, who's no slouch on skates
herself, enjoyed it su much she went practically nightly. So
did the Harold Lloyds. And a certain Hollywood playboy
fell so hard for one of the Folliettes, he attended forty
consecutive performances!
On opening night, silver fox jackets and mink coats were
a dime a dozen, and even the majority of sports jacket-
loving males were resplendent in evening clothes. Jane
Withers, who has more formals than Hedy Lamarr, was
probably the fashion plate of the evening in a decollete
gown, a white fitted wrap and a huge camellia corsage.
During the intermission, almost everyone went outside
to ogle and incidentally to thaw out numb tootsies. How-
ever, Bill Powell, feet wrapped in a blanket, stayed inside
in a pseudo-sulk, because the skaters could do tricks he
couldn't, and Jane Wyman — soon to become a mama— sat
and ate peanuts and signed autograph books till the second
half began. Part two, incredibly, was even better than part
one. Comedians Frick and Frack rolled the customers in
the aisles, and the finale had everyone yelling for encores.
Everyone, that is, but Cesar Romero, who could hardly
wait for the whole thing to be over so that he could tear
back stage and arrange for a few quick skating lessons.
(From that cute little redhead, Evelyn Chandler, we betcha!)
By Jean Kinkead
o
©M941
Jeanette MacDonald and spouse, Gene
Raymond, arrived half an hour late
to watch the frozen frolics. Maybe
they purposely snuck in under cover
of darkness to hide Gene's newly-dyed
coiffure. Since his movie comeback,
^ he's been sporting jet black locks.
- ^
A Follies stars, Bess
Ehrhardt's and Eve-
lyn Chandler's expla-
nations of "Arabian
cartwheels" set Jane
Withers to giggling.
A whiz on her radio-
equipped bike, Janie's
a flop ( and we do mean
literally) on the ice.
Lewis Stone and ^
his youthful wife No.
3, lovely Hazel Woof,
roar at the antics of
Comedians Frick and
Frack. The Stones
were in summer attire,
but brought along a
blanket for their feet.
Photos by Jules Buck
DECEMBER, 1940
41
4
A girl who can talk herself out of a ticket for speeding is worth
knowing, especially if she happens to he lovely Laraine Day!
A low slung coupe, red, slightly battered, with fenders
twisted, bumpers askew streaks down the road like a flash
of lightning, burning the concrete at eighty plus.
There's a shrill whistle as a motorcycle spins out of
ambush!
A couple of miles and seconds later, the coupe pulls over
to the side of the road, stops with a scream of breaks. The
officer of the law mops his brow, leaps off his panting
machine, a figure of furious determination. And then
what happens? He deflates like a pricked balloon and
puts the summons back in his pocket. He gulps, clears his
throat, tries to deliver a few harsh words of warning, but
ends by smiling fatuously at the young lady inside.
"You shouldn't ought to go that fast," he says apologeti-
cally. The young lady nods a mop of blonde curls in
humble agreement.
"That's what everyone says."
"Well," the officer sees the innocent blue eyes, the black
lashes waving hello. "Weee-el, — the next time, — " She
smiles a "thank you," slips the car in gear and is gone.
"Whew!" The officer mops his brow again. What a
looker, he thinks. And that smile! Wasn't there some-
thing familiar about that? Hasn't he seen her somewhere
before?
Of course! He remembers now. He's seen her in the
Kildare series as a student nurse; he's seen her in "My
Son, My Son" as Maeve, a young actress; and in "Foreign
Correspondent" as the girl Joel McCrea keeps afloat after
the plane crash.
The lady, as you may have guessed, is none other than
Laraine Day in her favorite role of speed demon. Miss
Day, you see, is just naturally in a hurry. Speed is in
her blood! She loves airplanes, and the dizzier and higher
and faster they fly, the better. She pedals a bicycle like
a householder rushing to save hearth and home from a
three-alarm fire. And as a hiker, she'd make a swell
cross-country track star! When Laraine and her twin
brother, Lamar, set out for a cross-country walk of a quiet
Sunday morning, there's no dawdling for them. They take
it on the lam!
Speed is the keynote of her career. Remember that this
Day dream is only nineteen years old, and you'll realize
that she has been in a hurry ever since she was born.
Just look at her! Not only does she rate a juicy contract
with Metro, but Maestros Small and Wanger bid for her
services in gilt-edged pictures; Alfred Hitchcock says she's
a wonder to direct, and the critics thumb the dictionary
for fresh adjectives to do her justice.
She and Lamar were five years old when they decided,
quite seriously and firmly, what work they intended to do
in this world. Lamar said he was going to be a printer.
Laraine said she was going to be an actress. Father and
Mother Johnson — Johnson is Laraine's real name — took the
statements with a grain of salt. Frankly they were not
impressed. They figured that the twins, like other chil-
dren, would change their ambitions with the seasons. But
they didn't realize that Lamar and Laraine were such
full-speed-ahead hellions! Here they are though! A
couple of years this side of voting age, and both well
launched on their careers; Lamar a master of type-setting,
and Laraine a brilliant young actress with a terrific future!
Like the traffic cop, we mop our brow and say "Whew!"
Laraine did not spend her school days dreaming about
her career. Quietly determined and bluntly practical, she
started to prove her versatility in this acting business in
BY MARY HAMMAN
kindergarten. She was an angel in a Christmas play and
one of the evil spirits in Pandora's Box. In grade school
she was Cinderella, Beauty and The Knave of Hearts. In
high school she earned all the dramatic club's best parts.
Word flew around that a whizz of a young actress was
knocking audiences for a loop at a high school in Los
Angeles, and that's how Laraine got a crack at tiny parts
with The Players Guild.
Count one, two, three, and there's Laraine leading lady
of this professional group, while at the same time she keeps
up her high school studies and fetches home straight A's
so the parent Johnsons can't find cause for just complaint.
Cross two months off the calendar, and look who's here.
A talent scout! Result? A couple of walk-ons, bit parts
and then the Day was cast as Maeve in "My Son, My Son."
The studio sent Laraine a script at five-thirty of a Tues-
day afternoon. Wednesday at nine A. M. she was plunging
headlong into a tense scene with Brian Aherne. This was
just her speed. She knew her lines cold. She'd figured
out Maeve's character and reactions to a T. She played
the part with assurance, warmth and deft eloquence. Over-
night, Laraine was well on her way to picture stardom. No
two ways about it, the girl is uncanny!
But don't, on any account, think of her as a "greasy
grind," the graphic college term for a student who crams
and works and frets and stews. Don't imagine that Laraine
hasn't a second to give to anything but her work. Nothing
could be farther from the truth. She can utilize minutes
so fully, do things so quickly and so thoroughly, that she
has more time for play and fun than anyone we know.
She manages to spend a good many hours a week lolling
on the beach and playing in the ocean. She and Lamar
take their sports seriously, and keep their swimming, ten-
nis and golf up to scratch no matter how arduous their
working schedules. Consequently, Laraine's skin is a bright
nut brown and contrasts vividly with her sunny hair and
her blue eyes; her figure is slender, strong and graceful,
and there are never any unhappy dieting problems in her
active, strenuous life.
Laraine eats, she'll tell you frankly, like a horse. Her
favorite food is a big, juicy hamburger on a soft toasted
roll. The "a" is a miracle of understatement, for Lamar
says he once observed his little sister toss off eight of them,
without batting an eye! "Of course," Laraine apologizes,
"that was after an active day." And when Laraine calls a
day active, you can bet your boots it was downright
hysterical!
In the Johnson's large, casual house in Cheviot Hills,
the ice box is always well stocked with hot dogs and
hamburgers, ginger ale and milk. At almost any hour of
the day or night, Laraine and Lamar are likely to show up
with a group of their buddies in tow, all of them practically
starving. Laraine rolls up her sleeves, greases the grill
and goes to work. She piles the hamburgers high with
onions, relish and catsup, and the group guzzles. Then
they play games: hop scotch, charades, darts, ping pong,
and a number of wild novelties they have invented. The
Johnson parents are prepared for almost anything.
One night not long ago, for instance, the senior Johnsons
were returning from the neighborhood theatre where they
had gone to see one of Laraine's pictures — they refuse to
attend previews, wait calmly for daughter's shows to come
to them. As they approached their house they heard weird
shrieks emanating from the interior. They opened the
front door to find the place pitch (Continued on page 79)
DECEMBER. 1940
43
Whoever started that yarn about sleeping beauty
didn't know much about modern girls. You've got to be
awake, alive and alert these days, morning, noon and night
— most of all at night. You may be a careerist all day long,
but come evening, and the man in your life has a way of
expecting to see you gay and glamorous, and if you don't
look that way you certainly aren't going to feel it. That's
a tall order, you may say, for a girl who's been cooking or
typing or reciting lessons most of her day.
But if you want to persuade the man of the moment that
you can be the girl of his dreams, it's well worth your
while learning a beauty trick or two that will stand you in
good stead come five o'clock of a winter's evening. And
the happy truth is, it can be done. That has been demon-
strated over and over by girls from coast to coast, and
particularly by your favorite movie heroines. There's the
lovely Joan Bennett, Paulette Goddard, Nan Grey, Jane
Wyman, Claudette Colbert, Anne Shirley, Jean Arthur,
Diana Lewis, Ida Lupino, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan
Fontaine, for example, who are successful careerists by
day, happy and beautiful wives at home.
Then don't forget the bright young members of the un-*
married set who make Hollywood history from 9 to 5,
are the life of the town by night and still manage to be
sparklingly beautiful no matter when you see them. Mary
Beth Hughes, Twentieth Century-Fox's engaging young
star, Betty Grable, Mary Healy, Judy Garland, Peggy
Moran, Rosalind Russell, Madeleine Carroll, Helen Parrish
and Brenda Joyce are just a few who manage to be as
distractingly lovely after five P. M. as they are conspic-
uously successful during "business" hours.
There is one big asset which these girls have in common,
and which you, too, can have — and that is a clear, radiant,
beautiful complexion. If, after long fatiguing hours of
work in grease paint, under hot lights, subject to continual
nervous strain and emotional tension, these lassies of the
lenses can still look fresh and clean and lovely, we main-
tain that any girl anywhere can do the same.
If you work all day, a small but completely equipped kit
full of complexion aids tucked away in a desk drawer or
locker shelf will do the trick of erasing tired lines and
that "working girl look" in time for that big date with
your best boy friend. You may be a modern young realist
who says to yourself some evenings, "Oh, I'm tired. If he
really loves me, he won't care how I look." Well, all we
know is what we've heard our beaux say on the subject
and we'll pass that along for whatever it's worth. One
man, perhaps more articulate than the rest, summed it up
brutally but frankly when he said, "I don't know anything
more abominably conceited than the girl who thinks that
she can look like a scarecrow and still expect men to be
devoted to her. Most men don't want their women to be
elaborately turned out, but they do yearn for a charmingly
feminine companion who shows by her good taste and
grooming that she considers the feelings of the man who
devotes his attentions to her." The consensus of opinion is
that no young man wants to see his girl look wan and
bedraggled. And in these days — and evenings — there's too
much competition around for any girl to risk deliberately
flying in the face of a yen as easily met as that one.
So in your desk or locker keep a cake of mild soap, a
jar each of cleansing and foundation creams, a box of
compressed cotton, a little bottle of fresh scented cologne
or skin freshener, rouge, powder, lipstick and eye make-up.
At the stroke of five, cleanse your skin as thoroughly as
possible, first with soap and water, then with cream. A
44
finishing fillip with the cotton dipped in freshener gives you
a sense of positive luxury. Now, on with your foundation,
rouge, powder, hp stick and eye beautifiers and watch his
eyes light up when you appear fresh and lovely. Dust and
city soil make any girl appear uninteresting, but a clean,
clear skin makes her look both gay and charming.
Of course, you have to know how to give your skin the
basic home care it needs as well as the last minute emer-
gency touches. It must be cleansed, stimulated and soft-
ened regularly if that final flourish is going to be effective.
You see, a skin, to be beautiful, must be healthy, and to be
healthy, it must be clean. A warm bath, topped off with a
cold rinse, should be as regular as rations at your house.
Keep a special cake of mild soap for your very own use.
Bath salts, a long-handled brush or a friction mitt are
helpful accessories, too. But at least be sure to use a thick,
coarse wash cloth, for you can't have cleanliness without
friction. Clean, heavy Turkish towels are also a decided
bath and beauty aid. If you can follow your toweling by
a brisk all-over rub-down with cologne or dusting powder,
so much the better. Your skin is a hard-working organ of
elimination, you know, besides being a protective sheath
and a basic necessity for your (Continued on page 74)
BY CAROL CARTER
MODERN SCREEN
Mary Beth Hughes, 20th Century-Fox's
beauteous new blonde starlet, guards
her skin with creams and lotions, and
breathes deeply to keep that spar-
kling glow of youth and good health.
The languorous age of Sleep-
ing Beauty is past. You have
to be alive, alert and awake
these days — and evenings too!
45
Our snooping snapster, Jules Buck, takes
hot to the trail of skylarking stars and
shoots 9 em night-lifing in Hollywood lairs!
Brian Aherne and Joan Fontaine
are such fight enthusiasts, they're
even staging them at home.
Just lovers' quarrels, we hope!
The Fred MacMurrays temporarily
abandon their adopted adored
one, 4-months-old Susan, to ap-
pear at another war-relief party.
Now that John's completed his
2,500 flying hours, he and Mrs.
Payne are buying a ranch from
which they'll commute by plane.
I
1
Buddy Rogers is congratulated by
wife Mary and Elsa Maxwell on
his decision to give up his band
to direct and act in the movies.
Hollywood's No. 1 bachelor, Greg
Bautzer, reportedly's giving up a
cherished independence for L' Amour.
The Dick Hallidays took the mar-
riage knot literally. No one's
ever seen their hands unclasped.
46
MODERN SCREEN
Elusive Edgar Bergen, famous for
Charlie McCarthy and impregnable
bachelorhood, keeps current lady,
Josephine Heller, guessing plenty.
Now that Grade's presidential as-
pirations are in the past, she and
George Burns relax and toast the
Harry J. Browns' 7th anniversary.
Rog Pryor hears about Ann Soth-
ern's latest yen — to sing in her
next film! Her 250-lb. mother, a
voice instructress, is the Coach.
While Chaplin's away, Goddard
will play. Here she is dining
at Ciro's with Director Litvak.
Betty Grable is jubilant as she
pinch-hits for absentee Lucille Ball,
in the rhumba with Desi ' Arnaz.
Alice Faye deserts Cesar Romero
and dazzles Greer Garson with
her egg-size sapphire ring and
breath-taking diamond bracelet.
Rumor has it that Judy Garland
and Dave Rose will make an altar
trek any time now. They've been
dating nightly for ages 'n' ages.
GOOD
MEWS
BY SYLVIA KAHN
Chitchat to tickle your
funnybone and keep
you Hollywood-wise!
VIC(TORY FOR) MATURE
The Lana Turner-Vic Mature coupling is the
hottest item in Hollywood's romantic fires,
but we don't believe anyone's reported how
it all began. For the records, then, here
goes: Vic was at Ciro's with a party, one
evening, when Lana, accompanied by her
agent, came in and sat at a table near the
men's "powder" room. Vic had never met
Lana but, as soon as he spotted her, he
realized two things — that she was a girl
he'd have no trouble going for, and that
he knew the man she was with. That was
enough for Vic. He promptly jumped up
from his own table and bee-lined for the
"room." On the way there, however, and
on the way back, he paused at the Turner
table for a little chat with the agent and
each time, with as much subtlety as a dive
bomber, angled for an introduction to the
beauteous Lana. No luck at all. However,
that didn't discourage Mr. Mature! Ten min-
utes later and a dozen times after that, he
repeated the routine — the Turner table, the
"powder" room, the Turner table and home
— but absolutely no dice. That night Lana
and Vic went their separate ways, techni-
cally strangers. However, an honest man
always finds a way. The following morn-
ing, Vic all but choked Lana's phone number
out of a mutual friend and — well — just re-
read our opening sentence!
FIT TO BE TRIED
Cutest twist to the Turner-Mature romance
is the pair's "Mike-and-Ike-they-look-alike"
gag. Lana and Vic, early in their "friend-
ship," bought duplicate swim suits and play
clothes but, now that they know each other
better, are expanding their wardrobes to in-
clude tailored suits made of identically the
same fabrics and cut along similar lines —
and there's no assurance they'll stop there.
The other afternoon, we ankled into Gladys
Parker's swank dressmaking establishment
and came upon Lana clad in straight pins,
basting stitches and something skin-hugging
and decollete which answers to the name of
evening gown. You guessed it. We marched
into the next dressing-room looking for Mr.
Mature! He wasn't there, we are sorry to
say, but the middle-aged woman who was,
put us in our place by remarking sarcasti-
cally that we "might find him at Adrian's."
NAMES'LL NEVER HURT YOU!
Many men find Lucille Ball disturbing — but
not in the same sense Orson Welles does.
To Orson, Lucille's curves and appeal are
as negligible as Elsie the Cow's. He'd be
happy if he never laid eyes on the lady
again, and is conscious of her only as the
female who transformed him from a Plain
Genius to a Mad Genius. Addressing the
mighty Mr. Welles as "Stinky" one day, Lu-
cille discovered it made him furious — and
discovered, at the same time, that making
Mr. Welles furious made her feel fine! Con-
sequently, she now follows him all over the
RKO lot, pounces on him in the commissary
and even hunts for him when he ducks her,
just to hurl her "pet" name and watch him
squirm. Orson's begged her to stop, but Lu-
cille's having too much fun and, unless some-
thing's done about it, Orson, who recently
found himself laid up with a broken leg,
may soon find himself laid up with apoplexy!
THE FABULOUS INVALID
But don't let Orson's allergy to unflattering
nicknames disillusion you. He's really a
very wonderful guy — as evidenced by his
performance at Ciro's the other evening.
Still "suffering" from that broken leg, Or-
son hobbled into the cafe, supported by
crutches and Dolores Del Rio. Motioning for
a waiter, he permitted himself to be helped
across the room to his table, and lowered
gently into his chair. Then, to the astonish-
ment of everyone, he handed his crutches to
the waiter, rose unassisted and, with Dolores
on his arm, made a dash for the dance
floor and a rhumba! And that isn't all!
When he was ready to leave, he demanded
the return of his crutches and, with face ab-
solutely expressionless, he limped calmly
across the dance floor, out the door and
into the night.
HERE COMES THE GROOM!
Arleen Whelan probably knew it all along,
but we've just learned that when the 26-year-
old redhead eloped to Las Vegas with
Alexander D'Arcy, her on-again-off-again
heartbeat of many months standing, she
took unto herself more than a mere male.
She married the "world's best-dressed man!"
The smooth and handsome Alex, a 31-
year-old French-Egyptian, was handed the
title recently by a noted Movietown designer
who cites as proof, the actor's 130 suits, 61
pairs of shoes, 42 hats, 37 sports ensembles
and a few hundred other assorted items.
And, as though that were not enough, Ar-
leen's groom is also known as "Hollywood's
Numba One Rhumbamaniac! "
KNOCK BEFORE YOU LEAP
The funniest story to come out of Hollywood
in a dog's age is the one Claudette Colbert's
telling on herself. It's one of those embar-
rassing moment tales, but don't let that
scare you. This one's different. ... It all
happened when Claudette's house was being
redecorated for the winter. Claudette had
moved down to the beach with some friends
but, one day, agreed to pose for a magazine
photographer in the garden of her own home.
Forgetting there were people working in the
building, she drove up to the house, let her-
self in with her personal key and went di- .
rectly to her dressing-room, closing the door,
behind her. Within a few minutes she had
laid out a fresh costume and, after peeling
off her clothes piece by piece, stood clad in
— nothing. She was just about to slide into
a negligee- when the door opened and in
strode a man! "He was there less than a
moment," Claudette relates, "and I think he
was even more scared than I. At any rate,
he found his legs first and bolted like a
shot. I found out later he was one of the
house painters, but he never came back to
finish his job! As far as I know, he's still
running!" Away from what, may we ask?
HIS PLACE IN THE SUN
Anecdotes linking W. C. Fields with a cer-
tain beverage, referred to as scotch and soda,
are slated for extinction. Fields has actually
grown sensitive about them and about the
legends which surround his stop-light nose.
It's tough to believe, but we're convinced
since we learned that the morning W. C. was
scheduled to begin wardrobe fittings for
"The Bank Dick," he woke up with a flam-
ing red schnoz and flatly refused to go to
to the studio! "I got this firecracker at the
beach," he swore, "and I'm not going down
there and let everyone say Fields was
plastered before he even started!" P. S.
Fittings were held up until the hose had re-
turned to its own lovely pink.
IUDY DONNING ROSE-COLORED
GLASSES?
M-G-M's bulging with the tender emotion
these days, what with Lana and Vic, Jackie
Cooper and Bonita Granville, Norma Shearer
and George Raft, and Mickey Rooney and
Dolly Thorn all apparently on the verge of
something serious. The Metromancer closest
to the altar, however, is little Judy Garland.
Intimates insist that Judy and musician Dave
Rose are so in love they can't see straight
and that despite the objections of her ad-
visers, Judy will become Mrs. Rose as soon
as Dave's divorce becomes final in May. Of
course, Judy's still very young and older
people who want her to contradict her own
heart have her slightly mixed up at the mo-
ment. Nevertheless, she and Dave are a
bright pair and you can bet your bankroll
that the matter will be wound up in what-
ever way makes them happiest.
CONSERVATIVE CROSBY
More important to a script writer than food
is material for good gags — and Bing Cros-
by's script writers are starving! There's
nothing funny about Bing anymore! For one
thing, he's sold all but one of his thirty poky
race horses which were always good for a
The exhibition of original movie
costumes, sponsored by Mrs.
Sylvia Fairbanks, is netting
the British War Relief a shekel
or two! The realistic wax masks
were designed and donated
free of charge by Katherine
Stubergh, and you can ogle
dozens of them for hours for a
mere fifty cents! Among the
most lifelike are those of
Shirley Temple, (being cooed
over here by Elsa Maxwell and
Mrs. F.), Greta Garbo, Joan
Crawford and Bette Davis.
GOOD NEWS
laugh and, for another thing, he's turned
Beau Brummell! Yup, nightmare shirts and
hats a milkman's nag would disdain will
never again adorn Mr. Crosby! Last week
a friend read a nasty crack about Bing's
sloppy attire, clipped it and sent it to Bing
with a note. Bing proved that he could take
a hint, and the next morning he went out
and bought himself an entirely new and
very elegant wardrobe!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We're not trying to start a new influx of
females to Hollywood's already overcrowded
pastures, but we've just learned of a job in
town that's good enough to lure many a
young femme to the Cinema City. We're
talking about waiting on tables at the
Brown Derbys. Most visitors to the restau-
rants sympathize with the girls who serve
them there, feeling they must be discontented
with their lot and consumed with envy every
time they plant a pork chop or a hot fudge
sundae in front of a famous face. The laugh,
of course, is on the visitors. The girls are
perfectly well satisfied — and who wouldn't
be, earning from $60 to $75 a week, every
week! We're not kidding. Their basic
salary combined with fat tips adds up to
that sum and the only expenses they have
in connection with their jobs are the costs
of a weekly hair set and manicure which
the Derby management insists upon, plus an
average of at least three pairs of stockings
a week, because they are asked never to
serve at tables with as much as a single
snag in their hose.
THE CORRECT THING
Emily Post, who has been telling befuddled
folks for lo, these many years, not to eat
peas with a knife or drink out of finger-
bowls, would have fallen over in a faint
had she been present at the home of the
Chico Marxes one night last week. Chico, it
appears, invited some friends over for a bite
of supper and a game of gin-rummy, which
was perfectly conventional. What wasn't
conventional, though, was the sight of Mr.
Marx ushering his assembled guests into the
dining room at precisely the same moment
Mrs. Marx was ushering herself out the front
door, headed for the Brown Derby and her
evening snack! The reason for this curious
Hollywood etiquette? Mrs M. is getting a
divorce from Mr. M. and, though she still
shares her husband's roof, she didn't want to
be in his way at the party!
ANNIE KEEPS IT CLEAN
Remember when the Harvard "Lampoon's"
nasty cracks about Ann Sheridan being the
"least likely to succeed" spattered the front
pages of the country? Well, one of the
school's graduate students has just penned
a humorous sequel to the incident. He's
written to the star and asked permission to
use her as the subject of his Ph.D. thesis!
Annie has a hunch it's a gag but will nix
the proposition personally, nevertheless.
Says she slyly: "No Harvard man's going
to drop a blot on my good name!"
DATA AND DISA
The engagement ring and wedding band
Greg Bautzer purchased for Lana Turner
are locked in his bank vault, awaiting Dotty
Lamour's "Yes" . . . Mary Livingstone's new
nose cost $1,000 . . . "Love me, tolerate my
cocker spaniel," says Constance Bennett who
never turns up on a set without the beige-
colored pup which reputedly set her back
$1,500 . . . Attention, Screen Actors Guild!
The ranch home of Bob Taylor and Barbara
Stanwyck is in the movie business, too. It'll
be the background for most of the Jane
Withers picture, "Golden Hoofs" . . . Six-
year-old Casey Johnson's stand-in in "Little
Men" is a thirty-two-year-old midget who
spends his leisure moments puffing away
at a big, black cigar . . . Music-loving Eddie
Albert owns well over two thousand phono-
graph records, and among them are many
discs of French, Russian, Italian and Austrian
anything lively. But leave it to a Stooge!
The following excerpts from Shemp's ques-
tionnaire will give you a hint of what Uni-
versal's up against. Q. Any of your ances-
tors or members of your family distinguished
in any field of endeavor? A. My brother,
Curly. He was the first in the family to get
a divorce. Q. Are any of your children
theatrically inclined? A. God forbid! Q.
What is your educational background? A.
I attended the Brooklyn Plumbers' College.
O- List degrees received. A. Third degree
burns. 0. Describe highlights of your early
youth. A. I'll need about eight more pages
for that. Q. How do you keep in condi-
tion? A. By sleeping and acting nervous
at fights.
NEGATIVELY SPEAKING
When Barbara Hutton was stricken with a
siege of the flu recently, local photographers
John Barrymore recently immortal-
ized his hands, feet and profile
in cement at Grauman's Theatre.
He had planned to use a cast of his
face for the dirty work, but Sid
insisted upon the real McCoy.
folk songs . . . New High in Modernism:
Herbert Marshall and his ex-frau, Edna Best,
played opposite each other in a recent Holly-
wood production of Noel Coward's "Still Life"
. . . The wedding bands that Bob Young and
his wife wear are identical, except that hers
is platinum and his is gold . . . Andrea Leeds
is yanking all available strings in order to
cancel her contracts with Sam Goldwyn. She
and Bob are expecting an heir to the How-
ard fortune, and she'd like to retire from the
screen forever and devote herself to wife-
and-mothering . . . Laurence Olivier tied
Vivien Leigh to him with a wedding band
that's a half-inch wide!
FILM FUN
Shemp Howard, whackiest of the Three
Stooges, was Universal-contracted the other
day, and handed one of those form ques-
tionnaires which all newcomers fill out for
publicity purposes. These questionnaires
snoop as far into a player's personal life
as the law allows, and seldom bring up
were overjoyed. They've nothing against
Barbara — in fact, think she's a grand girl.
But ever since she rode into the Hollywood
scene, they've been unable to flash-bulb
Cary Grant! Seems Barbara got her fill
of candid cameras long before she cut her
first tooth and has asked all the Hollywood
lens hounds to snub her completely and
train their little black boxes on Gloria
Glamour, instead. The boys respect her
wish but, since Cary seldom appears with-
out her, shots of Grant at play are growing
scarcer than peace on earth! Naturally,
when Cary squired Virginia Field to an im-
portant movie the other night, the camera
boys rushed at the pair only to find a new
obstacle in their path of duty. Virginia,
whose British fiance Richard Greene — now
seeing, service overseas — is still very much
on her mind, feared that her date with Cary
might be misconstrued and refused to pose
at his side! Not until agent Johnny Maschio
and Lady Moore, who was visiting Barbara
Hutton at the time, had been sandwiched
between them, would she face the birdie!
ALLEN A PINCH-PENNY?
Fred Allen is a plain guy. Night clubs bore
him and show-offs give him a pain in the
neck, but there's not one Hollywood wise-
acre who can understand that. The wags in-
terpret Fred's passion for simple living as
stinginess and, all through the Aliens'
Movietown stay, had a fun-poking field day
because Fred and the Missus cold-shouldered
Ciro's and lived in a small apartment where
Mrs. Allen did all their cooking. When
word leaked out that Fred, preparing to
leave for the East, had smashed his knuckles
trying to help an expressman get his trunk
through the door, the quipsters roared
themselves silly. Fred came through all
this ribbing completely unruffled, but not
unaware and, when he got to New York,
he made up his mind to lay it on even
thicker. Hustling ever to the radio station
from which he broadcasts, he dug out the
rumor has it they'll be altarbpund any mo-
ment, from a source close to Greer, we hear
that whether or not Mr. Thau has any such
idea, Miss Garson, who's still recuperating
from a very unhappy marriage, has not!
SHORT SHOTS
Note to Ann Sheridan: A marine painting,
presented to George Brent by Greta Garbo,
is still hanging over George's mantelpiece
. . . Katharine Stevens, who plays Ginger
Rogers' friend in "Kitty Foyle," is the daugh-
ter of Sam Wood, who's directing the pic-
ture . . . Fred MacMurray gifted Cesar
Romero with a watchdog, but the dog gets
lonesome for Fred and keeps running back
to the MacMurray home . . . Ex-child star,
Mitzi Green, owns over 1,500 pictures of
Jimmy Stewart and is plenty upset over the
Olivia de Havilland menace . . . Australia
has banned two Joan Crawford pictures,
Mary Beth Hughes (his wife in
"The Great Profile") made him
beautiful as 2,000 fans cheered.
The finished product! John first
signed his name "Jon," and had
to do the whole thing over again.
station-owned story of his life and wrote
the following addenda: "Regarding my mar-
riage to Portland Hoffa, we had no extended
honeymoon, bat we did spend a few days
in Waterbury, Connecticut, to make it seem
longer!"
GREER'S MR. THAU
Can you conceive of any man escorting a
beautiful film star to the theatre, and then
smuggling her out a side door to prevent
people from seeing him with her? Seems
kind of strange, in fact, slightly on the
screwy side, doesn't it? But that's ex-
actly what publicity-shy Benny Thau does
when he dates Greer Garson. Thau, as you
may know, is the man Greer's name's been
linked with so persistently, of late. He's a
small person, fortyish, acting assistant to
Louis B. Mayer and nephew of Metro's presi-
dent Nicholas Schenck. Greer's known him
about three years — ever since the evening
he and Mayer wandered into a London the-
atre and beheld her, for the first time, in a
play called "Old Music." And, though
"Strange Cargo" and "Susan and God." No
reason's been given . . . Students enrolled
for the art and composition courses at Holly-
wood High's night school have Olympe
Bradna for a classmate . . . They're featur-
ing a new sandwich in the 20th Century-Fox
commissary, called a "Jack Oakie." Its in-
gredients are ham and limburger . . . Just
about every star in Hollywood donates 1%
of his salary to the Motion Picture Relief
Fund . . . Dan Topping, Sonja Henie's groom
who owns the Brooklyn Football Dodgers,
is rumored to have a weekly income of
$15,000 . . . And have you heard Bob Hope's
newest complaint? Says he: "I have so
many bags under my eyes, my nose re-
sembles a pack horse!"
GOLDWYN STORY
Now it can be told. Before Gary Cooper's
"The Westerner" was released to the public.
Producer Sam Goldwyn called for an imme-
diate showing of the picture and summoned
Director William Wyler, Writer Jo Swerling
and his 14-year-old son, Sam, Jr., to his pri-
vate projection room to view it with him.
The picture had been running for about ten
minutes when Goldwyn suddenly ordered it
stopped. "It's terrible!" he bellowed. "It's
all mixed up! I don't understand what it's
all about! No one could understand what
it's all about!" Wyler and Swerling prompt-
ly protested. The action was so smooth,
they declared, even a child could follow it.
But Goldwyn was stubborn. The picture
must be changed. Wyler and Swerling
bravely stuck to their guns. "Look, Mr.
Goldwyn," they pleaded. "Here's your
son. Let's ask him. Sam, did you under-
stand the picture?" Young Sam snickered.
"Of course I did," he said. "It's simple."
Wyler and Swerling were relieved. "See,
Mr. Goldwyn?" they said. "Even the kid
understood it!" "What!" roared Goldwyn.
"That makes it even worse! What are we
doing now? Making pictures for children!"
STRANGE CARGO
Nothing in Hollywood's bag, of tricks can
get a raised eyebrow out of RKO's new
Swedish importation, Miss Signe Hasso.
Signe bid a temporary farewell to an engi-
neer husband and a six-yeaT-old son to
take a crack at a U. S. movie career and,
due to war conditions, arrived in the film
capital by way of Russia and Japan. En
route, she enjoyed every danger-fraught and
unique adventure this frenzied world can
offer and, as a consequence,' finds Movie-
town antics mild, kindergarten stuff by com-
parison. What, after all, could top her
Pacific crossing? According to Signe, she
made the entire trip with an Oriental, male
variety, as her cabinmate! The Japanese,
it seems, think nothing of assigning, a man
and woman to the same stateroom and, when
a slanty-eyed gent marched in and told Signe
that the room she thought was her own
was his, too, there was nothing she could
do but grin and share it!
TAMING OF THE SHREW
Maybe it's true, and maybe it's not, but
word's going round that fiery Miriam Hop-
kins has at last met her match. For years,
Miriam's been known as one of the screen's
most difficult actresses because she persists
in directing her directors, but Kurt Bernhardt,
who's megaphoning her "Lady With Red
Hair," is said to have discovered how to
humble her. After a single week of endur-
ing his star's overbearance, Bernhardt
strolled up to the belligerent Miss Hopkins
with his salary check in hand. "Here," he
said. "You take it. You earned it!" The
sarcasm was not lost on Miss Hopkins. She
gulped and stalked away, but we hear she's
scrapped the dictatorial manner and has
been obedient ever since.
UNDERCOVER WORK
Hollywood's due for the shock of a decade
when the divorce of a top-ranking director
finally clears the courts. The reason behind
the action is not his wife's "mental cruelty"
as was charged, but a certain South of the
Border spitfire who's dating another man
heavily just to throw the gossips off the
track! Among her friends, however, the
spitfire's playing another game. She's bet-
ting cold cash she'll be the director's wife
immediately after he's freed!
(Continued on page 75)
DECEMBER, 1940
51
Dennis Morgan and Ginger were Ginger chats with Jim Craig —
pals from the start, as both said to be a cross between
have a wide mischievous streak! Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant!
CHRISTOPHER MORLEY'S novel,
"Kitty Foyle," was published in No-
vember, 1939. In December it was
bought by RKO at a cost of $50,000.
By February, 1940, 100,000 copies of
the book had been sold and to date,
more than 250,000 people have paid
$2.50 to read about the adventures of
the white collar girl, Kitty Foyle.
The script, which took three months
to prepare, was written by Dalton
Trumbo, himself a novelist and author
of the best-seller, "Johnny Got His
Gun," and Donald Ogden Stewart,
well-known screen writer. To make
the screen play pure enough to pass
the Will Hays Office the story had to
be changed in part. The picture opens
showing Kitty in New York, unable
to decide between a marriage with
Mark, a young interne played by
James Craig, or a life as mistress to
Wynnewood Strafford VI (Dennis
Morgan). The film then cuts back to
Philadelphia, showing Kitty when she
was fifteen and takes her through her
love affair with Wynn and her career
in New York, ending with her decision
to marry Mark.
To portray Kitty at the age of fif-
teen, the wardrobe department out-
fitted Ginger Rogers in a blue middy
and black cotton stockings and the
make-up department plaited her hair
(golden red for this picture) ■ into long
braids, tied by bows. The rest of her
wardrobe consists of clothes that any
stenographer or secretary might own.
Only expensive gown that Ginger
wears is an evening dress fashioned
of gold lame imported from France at
a cost of $24 dollars a yard. Because
the material used in the gown was the
last of its kind to come out of war-
torn France, Bonwit Teller, exclusive
New York store, wired the studio ask-
ing for it. RKO refused to yield the
cloth, preferring to gown their star
in it.
To assure authenticity of the sets, a
Another sensational
best-seller has been
nabbed by the movies!
large amount of research was done for
the film. Photographs of the exterior
of the Philadelphia Bellevue-Stratford
Hotel were made and sets were later
reproduced from the photos; the orig-
inal 21 Club in New York was used
as the model for Giono's Speakeasy
in which Kitty and Wynn met often;
and the shabby Frankford house on
Griscom Street in Philadelphia was
reproduced exactly, down to the sun-
baked yard in the front and the out-
house in the back.
The casting of the female lead was
not difficult since Producer Hender-
son had had Ginger Rogers in mind
when he bought "Kitty Foyle," but
the male leads caused the studio
enough headaches to make an aspirin
factory prosperous. Practically every
male star in Hollywood was asked to
play the role of Wynn, but because of
other studio commitments all were
forced to refuse the part. Dennis
Morgan, Warner Brothers star, was
finally borrowed after several days of
dickering with his home studio. Mor-
gan, who has played in several un-
important Warner films, gets his first
chance to play a leading role in a
top-budgeted picture. The role of
Mark, the young interne, was given
to James Craig, handsome six-footer
who was last under contract to Uni-
versal, where he appeared in minor
roles.
Strangely enough, the real fives of
Morgan and Craig parallel those they
play in "Kitty Foyle." Dennis really
comes from a family of Wisconsin
lumber kings, while Jim has worked
as a truck driver, newspaper vendor
and gasoline station attendant.
Katharine Stevens, who plays
Kitty's roommate, has her first chance
to sink her teeth into a good role.
However, she has appeared in pictures
before. When she was three years
old, she had a small part in "Peck's
Bad Boy," a picture directed by her
father, Sam Wood. Upon graduation
from high school, she changed her
name (to avoid charges of cashing in
on her father), played in summer
stock, and eventually landed the role
of understudy to Martha Scott in the
Broadway production of "Our Town."
On the set, the technicians and crew
are divided into two camps — Willkie
boosters and Roosevelt boosters. Each
group resents working with the
other and both break into very fre-
quent heated arguments to the annoy-
ance of long-suffering Director Wood.
52
MODERN SCREEN
NIGHT and DAY FASHIONS
* * v » t
Bright green or red velveteen adds a dash of glamour and glory to yoke and hood. The crisp rayon
taffeta lining is matched in the same gay tones. $19.95. Lord & Taylor's second floor. New York.
53
***** CH«*STMAS
lEADING lady dazzles her public in a
charming formal taffeta with pin-point
waist. Rhinestones sparkle flirtatiously
on straps and pockets. Sizes 9-17.
.95. Saks at 34. New York.
White angel goes glamorously to dinner
rayon jersey . . . multi-colored
sequins stud the halo hood. Sizes
10-18. $7.95. Ohrbach's. New York.
Late dater in her party-going wrap . . .
white galyak fur-cloth top, velvet skirt.
A charmer and a warmer. Sizes
10-18. $14.95. At Stern's. New York.
nF.rir.M-RF.R 1 Q4.fi
and
• • ami j^p. . . ami
and
0
Sinny: Real furl How do
you do it on your budget?
Say: One coat for day,
dress and eve actually
saves money.
Short and sweet ! The fur jacket you've
always craved and thought you couldn't
afford, at a believe-it-or-not price.
Skunk -dyed or sable -dyed Opossum.
Sizes 12-20. Only $38. At I. J. Fox,
New York.
Rise and shine at the office in this
sueded rayon jersey — with self buttons
and buttonholes all over the place!
Heavenly colors, too! All for $3.98
in sizes 12-18. Sold at McCreery,
New York.
Ginny: Don't you look
sweet as sugar.
Gay: Ducky is the word.
My rumpus coat is
"Weather Sealed" by
Impregnole.
Who's just a fair weather friend?
Your rumpus coat frolics with you rain
or shine. Water-repellent cotton gabar-
dine, red collar and hood lining, zipper
pocket. Sizes 12-20. $4.94. Macy's,
New York.
56
MODERN SCREEN
and jfpE add up to stay under SeWfMltJ - (U%e (LoJj(Lt<$
Like an expensive English classic with
its impeccable tailoring, soft wool and
cashmere jersey, ribboned cardigan
front. A natural for year 'round wear.
Sizes 10-20. $7.95. Lord & Taylor,
New York.
P stands for pinafore frock, pleated
ruffs 'n' pockets a-plenty. In other
words, Perfection! Delicious shades
of crepe, contrasting graduated but-
tons. Sizes 9-17. $10.95. McCreery's
New York.
Butch: What an evening dress! I love it.
Wait till he sees you in this! The
all-important gold-embroidered dinner
blouse, startling in scarlet with black
skirt. Blouse sizes 32-38. $3.98. Skirt
sizes 12-18. $3.98. Franklin Simon,
New York.
DECEMBER, 1940
57
PRETTY PENNY is mighty busg these
dags scouting tor extra special Xmas
values! She calls them "ntftg-gitties"
and she'll have lots more next month*
POMPONS
... for madcaps
Puff-balls go to your head
making a witty hand-cro-
cheted wool yarn hat.
Adjustable for all sizes.
95 at Bloomingdale's.
For information concerning fashions write to the Fashion Editor of MODERN SCREEN magazi
It's fun to match-mate
your wits and needles!
7205 — Don a cute crochet-bordered
apron and set your table with table
mats and matching glass jackets.
9159 — Keep your closet up to snuff
^ with custom-made hangers and sachets.
J
J
9168 — This crocheted satin case is
as swish as your best hankie inside.
Send in the coupon below with
a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Instructions are absolutely free.
/
ANN WILLS. Modern Screen
149 Madison Ave., New York. N. Y.
Kindly send, at no cost to me:
Directions for No. 7205..
Directions tor Nos. 9159-9168
I enclose a stamped, self-addressed (large)
envelope
Name
Street
City State
Use your heads! Use your
hands! What your needlework
needs is more imagination. Cro-
cheting is all very fine and deli-
cate and ladylike just by its lone-
some, but hooking it to ideas
like the ones above is positively a
stroke of genius! But you don't
have to be a genius to do it, it's
that easy! And good news to you
career girls, you can accomplish
all this in your spare moments on
your spare change.
In whipping up a firelight sup-
per on holiday eves, add a note
of whimsy to your background
with a crash apron and table mats,
both trimmed with a crochet pat-
tern that matches the glasses'
"jackets." Just watch this spar-
kling combination whet your
guests' appetites! They're simple
to make and bound to impress the
ultra ultra of visiting notables.
To solve that problem of the
gift for "the girl who has every-
thing," sharpen your wits 'n'
needles and give her a bit of fact
and fancy — a crocheted handker-
chief case with dress hangers to
match. They're everlastingly use-
ful, and she'll love owning 'em!
DECEMBER, 1940
59
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH
"VIRGINIA"
Hollywood comes to the serene old South and
produces this vivid, romantic love story
Just stepped out ^
of a bandbox? No,
a trailer — which
served Madeleine
Carroll as a dress-
ing-room on the
set of "Virginia."
< Turn about is fair play!
Miss Carroll, looking
like the 20th Century in-
stead of the 18th, turns
the lenses on a bevy of
syndicate photographers,
who obligingly give her
an inviting "cheesecake"
— leg picture to you.
On the set of "Virginia," the cast ate, lived A
and acted outdoors. In bad weather, covered
sets were used. Here's Carolyn Lee (the only
cast member who didn't lose pounds on location)
taking a snack in the sunlight between scenes.
60
MODERN SCREEN
American Girl 1941
Eyes bright as stars . . . Hair brushed to shining . . .
Cheeks — clean, fresh, sweet as a newly flowered rose
. . . Attire trim as a uniform, or — a benison of grace
and soft enchantment.
Thus stands our American Girl. Eager. Spirited.
Swift to serve as today's swift events demand.
That jewel brightness is part of her unchanging
tradition of high health and personal beauty.
In her primer of true breeding are five flaming requi-
sites to the care of her face, the treasured edicts long
laid down by Pond's: —
BATHE the face lavishly with luscious Pond's Cold Cream. Spank
its fragrant unctuousness into the skin of face and throat. Spank
for 3 full minutes — even five. This swift and obedient cream mixes
with the dried, dead surface cells, dirt and make-up on your skin,
softening and setting them free.
WIPE OFF all this softened debris with the caressing absorbency
of Pond's Tissues. With it you have removed some of the softened
tops of blackheads — rendered it easier for little plugs of hardened
sebum to push their way to the surface.
SPANK again with fresh fingerfuls of gracious Pond's Cold
Cream. Again wipe off with Pond's Tissues. This spanking enhances
both the cleansing and the softening. Your skin emerges from it
infinitely refreshed. Lines seem softened. Pores seem finer.
COOL with the faint, intriguing astringence of Pond's Skin Freshener.
MASK your whole face, for one full minute, with a blissful coat-
ing of Pond's Vanishing Cream. This delectable cream has as one of
its chief missions in life the duty of dispersing remaining harsh
particles, chappings, aftermath of exposure. When you wipe it off,
it leaves a perceptible mat finish. Then with what enchantment
your powder goes on. How surprisingly it holds.
Perform this Pond's ritual in full once daily— before retiring or
during the day. And again in abbreviated form as your skin and
make-up need freshening. Guard your skin's tender look and feel,
as do so many members of America's most distinguished families —
with Pond's. Already some thirteen million women in the United
States use Pond's.
GIVE-AWAY for the thrifty
minded — FREE (for a limited
period) a tempting supply of
Pond's authoritative hand lo-
tion, DANYA, with each pur-
chase of the medium-size
Pond's Cold Cream. Both for
the price of cream! At beauty
counters everywhere.
BOTH FOR THE PRICE OF CREAM
Copyright, 1940, Pond's Extract Company
MRS. VICTOR DU PONT, III . . . MRS. NICHOLAS RIDGELY DU PONT . . . MRS. EUGENE DU PONT, III . . .
MRS. ERNEST DU PONT, JR. . . . members of the brilliant family whose aristocratic heritage, whose vast and varied
industries, are almost an American legend. All have for years followed the Pond's ritual
DECEMBER, 1940
61
EXPOSING WEAKNESSES OF TOP RANKING STARS
(Continued from page 25)
Another fine one is this Laraine Day.
She'll go far. She has a good range, a
retentive memory. I can go over the
script with her, mention a pause in a
certain bit of dialogue and a week later,
when we get to that dialogue, she'll re-
member the pause!
"I'd call Robert Donat the easiest man
I've ever worked with. His Mr. Chips
was mere child's play. Why, once on
the stage in London, I saw him enact, in
successive scenes, a lad of eighteen and
an old man of eighty! Match that!"
Returning to his own methods, Hitch-
cock said that he mapped out the movies
he directed entirely in advance; made
quick pencil sketches of each scene and
never deviated from his original plan. He
revealed how he got the most out of his
players. He indulged in trickery!
THERE was the time, in "Thirty-
Nine Steps," when Madeleine Carroll
and Robert Donat were to be handcuffed
and devote hours to dragging each other
up and down hills, over meadows — and
even spend a night at an inn.
To make matters even more interesting,
they didn't know each other. They came
to the set one morning at nine and Hitch-
cock, in his own amiable manner, intro-
duced them and immediately handcuffed
them together. Neither had had break-
fast. Neither was exactly the chummy
type. Yet Hitchcock kept them shackled
for two hours.
"Take these darn handcuffs off!" wailed
Madeleine.
"Can't," sighed Hitchcock. "Lost the
key."
After four hours, the handcuffed stars
hated each other, hated the world. Hitch-
cock turned to his cameraman. "Twirl
'em!" he shouted. The camera rolled.
The scene was realistic. It created a sen-
sation.
"You have to be tricky and sometimes
even cruel," said Hitchcock. "In 'Foreign
Correspondent,' there's that big scene
where the airplane is shot down, and the
players have to hang on to a wing in the
water while the waves break over them.
I never warned them when the waves
were coming, and so their reactions were
real. That $160,000 scene took ten days
to film! I knew that the stars would
grumble about being in the water a week
and a half, so I applied a little psychology.
I hired a sixty-nine-year-old lady, Miss
Gertrude Hoffman, to go into the water
with the others. As long as a woman her
age didn't complain, well, Joel McCrea
and Laraine Day couldn't either. And
the scene went off smoothly. Not bad,
eh, what?"
Not bad at all. But, before leaving Mr.
Hitchcock, we must repeat a story we
recently heard about him.
It seems that a few weeks ago Hitch-
cock was lured to a swank dinner party.
All of Movieland was there — producers,
actors, relatives, everyone. After the
coffee and dessert, the guests grouped off
to play poker. Hitchcock, not being
familiar with the game, promptly settled
himself into a nearby easy chair and fell
asleep.
After a couple of hours Mrs. Hitchcock
came over and shook her husband until
he opened his eyes.
"Wouldn't you like to go home, Al-
fred?" she asked.
"Oh, heavens no," murmured Hitch-
cock. "Why, that would be rude!"
Which, we feel, explains enough about
the pudgy Englishman — so that we can
now go over to a white house on the side
of a hill, and chat with a giant German
The German, a self-educated, ex-
shepherd named William Dieterle,
slumped in his wicker chair and stared
out over Burbank below and the War-
ner Brothers studio, where he had manu-
factured his great hits on Pasteur, Zola,
Ehrlich and the Hunchback. We gazed
upon Dieterle with respect. He had given
the movies something more than pretty
legs. He had given the movies brains.
Now, he straightened his lank, strong
body and, speaking in a curious, slow
mixture of Teutonic-accented English
Priscilla Lane, youngest and smallest
of the Lanes, steals Santa's stuff.
Imagine finding her under your tree!
and American slang, he analyzed some of
the stars whose names he had made
household words.
"The best actress I've ever worked
with? Bette Davis. By far. She's so
flexible, so intelligent, a thoroughbred
who reacts to the most subtle of sugges-
tions. Of course, she isn't perfect — she
has nervous habits like fluttering her eye-
lids and clasping her hands, which must
be watched.
"It is more difficult for me to select the
best actor I've ever worked with. Most
men, I find, are extremists. Either totally
empty, with nothing to give, or too in-
tellectual. Both types are difficult to
work with.
"Perhaps Paul Muni comes closest to
my ideal. However, I sometimes think he
carries his thoroughness to extremes. I
understand that for 'The Good Earth' he
worked on a Chinese farm in California
to get in the mood. I don't think such
experiences are necessary to understand
a role. An artist's imagination should be
sufficient.
"Very few people know it, but there
are two Paul Munis. The one who, as
Emile Zola, stands in front of the camera
speaking and acting, and the other who
stands behind himself constantly and
critically whispering in his ear, 'No, no,
Muni, that's not right. Zola wouldn't
have done it that way. Try it again. Try
it again.' This constant looking at him-
self as he acts, this too intellectual ap-
proach often hampers Muni.
"In fact, to keep him spontaneous, 1
often print the first take of his big scenes.
I'll let you in on a secret. Remember
the famous seven minutes speech Muni
made to the jury in Zola? I put three
cameras on him and told him to run
through it. He did — but as usual—
wasn't satisfied. I permitted him to do it
over three or four times but, between us,
I used the first take. It was the jerkiest
— but the most natural. And now it's
famous."
Dieterle, renowned for his eccentricity
of directing pictures while wearing white
gloves, now passed his big, bare hands
over his semi-bald head, settled back and
mentioned a fellow eccentric.
"Charles Laughton is the most eccen-
tric person I have ever met," admitted
Dieterle. "But in his case, it's an asset.
Laughton, nervous, hyper-sensitive, is
really a Feast for Freud, a 365 day ex-
periment for a psychologist.
"He's full of unusual ideas about his
scenes. And you have to hold the reins
on him, or soon you find him not only
acting in his pictures but also directing
them. He never plays a scene the same
way twice. And because the only time
he relaxes is at rehearsals, I feel he often
gives his best performances then when,
unfortunately, the camera isn't looking.
"Laughton has one curious quirk.
Whenever I approach him to begin a
scene, he replies, 'I am not in the mood.'
This, I learned, is not temperament, but
fear. He actually has an inferiority com-
plex about getting in front of the camera.
He always thinks he just won't be good
enough. Yet he's touched with genius
ONE more thing about him. Like
Muni, he, too, believes he must feel
and experience an emotion before he can
portray it. When we were shooting the
final scene of 'The Hunchback of Notre
Dame,' Laughton was supposed to be on
top of a 350-foot cathedral, looking down.
Naturally, we intended to fake the shot,
by shooting a close-up on the ground, with
Laughton on a platform ten feet high.
Well, before the scene, Laughton strolled
up to me and said, 'Bill, I can't feel the
scene. I've got to experience it. I've got
to get up on top of that 350-foot cathedral
for a few hours and get the feeling. Then
you can fake it, after I'm in the mood.'
I knew better than to argue with him.
So Laughton began climbing up the 350-
foot structure. A big eater, he had just
completed an enormous lunch, and when
he had climbed halfway up, I saw him
waver, look down, sway — and suddenly
he was ill to his stomach. We helped him
down and put him on a cot. And take it
from me, sir, Mr. Laughton didn't have
to feel the scene that afternoon. He was
happy to have it faked!"
William Dieterle, with ten years of
guiding the professional emotions of Hol-
lywood stars behind him, wound up the
(Continued on page 64)
62
MODERN SCREEN
I was petrified!
FITCH BANDWAGON
presenting your favorite orches-
tras every Sunday evening,
7:30 p. m., E. S. T., over 84
NBC Red Network Stations.
FROM across the room his eyes flashed a dare I could not
accept! My heart responded! But I ran away. He must
not see that dandruff kept me from being lovable. That was two
months ago, before a beauty operator advised me to use Fitch's
Dandruff Remover Shampoo each week. I discovered that beauty
operators depend on the Fitch guarantee to remove dandruff with
the first application, and on the evidence of the Good Housekeeping
Seal of Approval. They know that Fitch Shampoo reconditions dry,
oily and normal hair, because it penetrates and cleanses the tiny hair
openings. If you're worried about dull lifeless hair, and humiliated
by dandruff, ask for a bottle of Fitch Shampoo at your favorite toilet
goods counter, as I did. And I hope you have as good luck as I did
— we're being married in June!
GOODBYE DANDRUFF
i\ 1. This photograph shows germs and dandruff scattered
but not removed, by ordinary soap shampoo.
2. All germs, dandruff and other foreign matter completely
destroyed and removed by Fitch Shampoo.
3. Microphoto shows hair shampooed with ordinary soap
and rinsed twice. Note dandruff and curd deposit left by
soap to mar natural lustre of hair.
4. Microphoto after Fitch Shampoo and hair rinsed twice.
Note Fitch Shampoo removes all dandruff and undissolved
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63
interview by discussing actors in general.
"Many actors are difficult creatures,
refusing to submerge themselves into a
role. They fight for the lens, for close-
ups. But many are gentlemen, and
Edward G. Robinson is one of these.
He's a great man who can take criticism
well, but even he has one bad habit.
In his portrayals of Ehrlich and Reuter
he was like a thousand-armed Buddha,
gesturing much too much. I told him
about it, and he toned down.
"Personally, I like actors who will fight.
I don't like people who 'yes' me and who
are too easy to get along with. I need
opposition to produce my best, and criti-
cism keeps me on my toes.
"But all things considered, I love actors.
They're crazy and harassed — but inter-
esting."
AT this point, he led us into his private
- study, walls lined with books printed
in German, French and English. He
showed us one of his working scripts—
with pages upon pages of notations,
scribbled out in advance, and an outline
of the movement of the picture.
"This outline, however, is only a blue-
print," explained Dieterle. "I try to
keep my mind open to any new sugges-
tions or inspirations that may come up.
For example, that scene in Ehrlich where
the blind boy gets his sight back, where
the unfocused lens of the camera becomes
clearer and clearer to show the return
of his sight, was purely inspired. There
are no special scenes I prefer to shoot.
Because I love the complexity of life, I
also love all types of scenes.
"My ambition," he concluded, "is to
make the intelligent A pictures of today
the ordinary and accepted B pictures of
tomorrow. Then, at last I'll know we've
advanced."
Having left the outspoken Mr. Dieterle
among his books, we moved over to a
huge sound stage at M-G-M, where two-
fisted Woody Van Dyke was directing
Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in
"Bittersweet."
This was unusual, and we sensed it.
After all, Woody Van Dyke, a marine
who had shot a charging rhino in Africa,
who had quelled a mutiny in Alaska, who
had thrown Max Baer into a swimming
pool — Woody Van Dyke directing a musi-
cal— well!
"I suppose it does seem crazy," Van
Dyke confessed, when we pointed it out
"But hell, I've directed musicals before
Of course, I don't know a darn thing
about music except the scale — you know,
do-re-mi — but I've got an ear, I know
what sounds good, so what the devil!"
Today, at the age of fifty-two, Wood-
bridge Strong Van Dyke, as he was orig-
inally christened, could look back upon
an exciting, topsy-turvy career. He first
became interested in dramatics at the age
of five when he appeared in "Ruth, The
Blind Girl." He was Ruth.
During his teens, Woody Van Dyke
took an active part in politics, wandering
up and down the Pacific coast giving fiery
talks on Socialism. On three different
occasions he was jailed as a radical.
Finally, his famous uncle, Dr. John C.
Van Dyke, of Rutgers University, hearing
of his escapades, wrote to Seattle and
asked relatives to stop Woody from ruin-
ing the renowned family name. Imme-
diately, Woody's grandmother replied to
the protesting uncle, "Dear John: You
better let the kid alone with his radical
ideas. When you were his age you had
no ideas at all!"
Meeting Van Dyke, we realized that he
hadn't changed since his- youth. He was
still a radical — in the sense that, in a
city of pretentions, he had none. We had
heard that once he was scheduled to do
some re -takes with Greta Gar bo. He
was warned that Garbo wasn't in the best
of humor, and that he had better treat
her with kid gloves. Whereupon Van
Dyke breezed onto the set, spotted the
great Garbo, clapped her on the back and
exclaimed, "Hiya, kid!" (P.S. She loved
him for it.)
"Aw, there's a lot of nonsense written
about stars," Van Dyke told us, "and most
of it is bosh. They're just regular folks.
Take Wallace Beery. Before being as-
signed to one of his pictures, I was
warned that he was tough to work with,
that he wouldn't do a lick of labor on
Sundays and that he liked to sleep until
ten in the morning. So, the first day on
location, I went up to him, stuck out my
chin and said, 'Wally, we work seven
days a week on this picture, and that in-
cludes Sundays. And we start in at
seven-thirty in the morning. Does that
suit you?' Beery grinned, 'Woody, that
Hedy Lamarr, victim of two unfor-
tunate marriages, is beginning to
think that dog is man's best friend.
suits me fine.' And after we'd had our
understanding, there was never a better
guy to work with."
Van Dyke nodded toward a big fellow
wearing horn-rimmed spectacles. "Now
Nelson Eddy over there is really easy to
direct. That's because he's serious, only
interested in singing. Though, when he
gets too serious, I kid around with him
and he relaxes. My favorite feminine
star is Norma Shearer. She's like putty
Reacts to the slightest bit of direction.
"Part of a director's job is understand-
ing peculiarities of the stars, no matter
how minor. Take Bill Powell, for in-
stance. I always call him a half hour
before I need him, and then he shows
up on time because, by the clock, he's
always a half hour late. Jeanette Mac-
Donald always takes coaxing to get on
the set. She's invariably powdering.
"I think the biggest problem I ever
faced was Hedy Lamarr. After 'I Take
This Woman' was shelved, she was at the |
crossroads of her career. I was scheduled
to re-shoot the picture, and Hedy was j
a stickler! Directors didn't seem to be
getting the most out of her. Finally, I
figured it out. I learned that the trouble !
was they were giving her too much dia- |
logue at once, and it confused her. You
see, when Hedy reads or hears an English
word, she thinks it out in German and
then slowly translates it into English i
again. Too much dialogue gives her 1
mental indigestion, so I fed her the stuff
in small pieces — and she turned ouf
swell!
"My credo is never to try to change
the personality of a star. I let them all I
be themselves, remembering that's exact-
ly what made them famous."
Studying this man of whipcord and
steel, we remembered the picture that,
overnight, lifted him to the summit of
fame. It was "Trader Horn." M-G-M
asked Van Dyke to lead a Hollywood ex- j
pedition into the matted green of the Bel-
gian Congo and there shoot the film.
Taking thirty-eight white men and j
women, two hundred African blacks,
ninety-two tons of luggage, fourteen
small trucks, two seven-ton sound [
wagons and a nine-ton generator ma-
chine, Van Dyke traveled nine thousand '
miles through the heart of Africa! There,
for twenty-five cents worth of salt and
olive oil, he hired pygmies to turn thes-
pian. There, he was acclaimed a great
warrior because the natives found 250
human skulls, in his trunks (not knowing
they were cardboard skulls from the
M-G-M prop department!)
"Trader Horn," of course, elevated
Woody Van Dyke to the genius class, and i
"The Thin Man" series solidified his lofty
reputation.
We asked Van Dyke how he worked.
I DON'T break down a script. Hell, 1 !
* read it over once and forget about
it. Then, when the picture starts, I walk
on the set, look at the scene I'm supposed
to shoot and shoot it. I'm prejudiced in \
favor of nice, sweet love scenes. I don't j
like risque ones, because I never know
how far to go with them. Whenever I
make a borderline scene, I think of how
the Parent Teachers' Association, my \
favorite organization, will look at it, and
shoot accordingly. . . . Advice to those
who want to be actors or directors?
Simple enough. Figure out how you
would naturally do a thing and then do |
it naturally some other way!"
For a session with another picture pilot, j
we invaded Columbia and found 47 -year*
old Ben Hecht, once labeled "Pagliacci
of the Fire Escape," straddling the top of ,
a ladder, chewing gum furiously, and
guiding the emotions of Doug Fairbanks,
Jr., Rita Hayworth and Thomas Mitchell
in a little thing called, "Before I Die." ^
This was Ben Hecht's fifth crack at
directing an opus, his best previous effort
having been a minor classic, "The Scoun-
drel" with a gent named Noel Coward.
Hailed variously for authoring a book,
"Erik Dorn," and a play, "The Front
Page," Ben Hecht had also made a repu- |
tation by calling Hollywood the "Mecca
of Moronity" and the "Palace of Plati-
tude," and by writing this poem, with
Charles MacArthur, for his picture, "Soak
the Rich".
"We're the gents that wrote the yarn
And here's what it's about.
Class ideas don't mean a thing
When Love Kicks 'Em Out!"
We coaxed Ben Hecht, his moustache
and his battered brown felt hat down
from the directorial ladder, and led him i'
64
MODERN SCREEN
to a nearby chair. We asked him about
personalities.
Hecht was curt, but colorful.
"Doug Fairbanks, Jr., is by far the best
actor I've ever worked with in Holly-
wood. Why listen, he can take a scene
cold, and in fifteen minutes he'll not only
have it memorized, but he'll understand
the character backwards. Also, he's the
finest mimic in town, though no one real-
izes it. I'll tell you one inside fact about
Fairbanks. It's his only fault. He's
ashamed of acting! He thinks it's child's
play, and he feels he has too much brains
for this kind of hocus-pocus. But when
he swallows his pride, he's magnificent.
"The only other person who'd com-
pare with Fairbanks on the screen would
be Noel Coward, who is really a synonym
for polish."
At the time we saw Hecht, his antics
had Columbia in a bit of an uproar. He
had his picture nine days ahead of sched-
ule, a thing unheard of; he persisted in
playing the violin before crucial scenes;
he insisted on insulting his players too.
But — cardinal sin! — in an interview, he
had called all producers nitwits. This
prompted the studio owner, Mr. Cohn, to
call Mr. Hecht on the carpet.
"What's the idea calling all producers
nitwits?" he demanded. "I'm a producer."
"Naw, you're not a producer," grunted
Hecht, "you're a money-bag!"
And Hecht wheeled and left, returning
to his violin, which gave rise to the now
classical saying in Hollywood, "Hecht
fiddles while Cohn burns!"
But back to the interview, and to a
potpourri of exclusive Hechtisms:
"I don't believe in working on a script
in advance. It ruins spontaneity. I
work on a movie as if it were a play. Re-
hearse a scene cold and then shoot it.
This makes performances more realistic
... I don't believe in fancy close-ups
and all the artistic trimmings. They
detract . . . The only shots I don't like to
direct are those involving extras, be-
cause they take too much time to organ-
ize. I believe in only two takes to keep
a scene natural ... I believe the big
trouble with actors is that they are too
insanely serious about their face -making
... If you wish to be happy in Holly-
wood, you've got to have a sense of
humor."
And having concluded his speech-mak-
ing, Ben Hecht left us, left the picture
itself in charge of his cameraman, and
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wandered oft to listen to some new Paul
Robeson records.
Slightly in a daze, we decided to chat
with one more director to prove our
original point — that sense of direction is
the most important single factor in cellu-
loid, production.
We went to Universal and visited Tay
Garnett, a slight individual, bearing a
resemblance to Roscoe Karns. With
such successes as "One Way Passage,"
"Trade Winds," "Eternally Yours," and
Marlene Dietrich's thrilling new picture
— "Seven Sinners" — behind him, Garnett
was in a talkative and mellow mood.
He opened the top of his trick cane,
propped himself on it and repeated our
first query.
"How does it feel to be a movie direc-
tor?" Garnett grinned. "It feels this way:
years ago I was making "Our Gang"
comedies out at Hal Roach Studios. One
day I was summoned off the set for a
long telephone conversation, and when I
returned I found the duskier member
of "Our Gang," little Sunshine Sammy,
sitting in my director's chair ordering the
others around. I walked up to him,
scratched his kinky head and said, 'Well,
Sammy, I suppose you're going to be a
director when you grow up?' Sunshine
Sammy rolled his big black eyes, flashed
his white teeth and snapped back,
'Shucks, no, Mr. Garnett, it's tough
enough being colored!' . . . Which should
answer your question."
We asked Tay Garnett about some of
the stars he's worked with. He admitted
that Bill Powell and Kay Francis were
probably the most able and the most co-
operative. "They work so hard and
they're such nice people," was the way
he put it. We pressed Garnett for more
info.
He massaged his cheek thoughtfully
and then spoke.
"I'm finding Marlene Dietrich good to
work with. You know, she thinks it's
bad luck to be late on a set, and as a
consequence she's always hours early,
just sitting around waiting. Jean Harlow
used to be like that, too. I remember
Ann Sothern for her violent enthusiasm
over her job. She was almost through
when I played a hunch and put her in
'Trade Winds' — which put her back
among the stars. After the picture was
released, she took an hour's drive to my
place, burst in while I was asleep, shook
me out of bed and exclaimed, 'Poppy,
you did it; M-G-M just signed me to a
new contract! I'm a star again!' There
aren't many stars as appreciative."
We wondered if Garnett ever had to
employ trickery to get the most out of
his charges. Garnett admitted he did.
I REMEMBER directing a scene in
which Joan Bennett was meant to look
horrified. In the picture her sister was
to have been killed or something like
that. But Joan wasn't in the mood, and
I couldn't make her register horror.
Finally I applied the old gray matter. I
got the camera rolling, zoomed it down
for a close-up of her, and then screamed,
'Joan, I just heard, your daughter's been
hit by a truck!' Her immediate reaction
was a thing to behold, the horror on her
face exactly what I wanted. It was a
cruel lie, but necessary."
Turning the interview inward and
speaking of himself, Garnett added:
"My ambition today is to make the best
picture of the year every year. But I
want to make each picture for the people,
those who read movie magazines and not
for the critics. I think Frank Capra is
the one man in Hollywood today doing
the proper job — mixing entertainment
with worthwhile Americanism. He's not
a preacher but a magician. My one am-
bition is to do a modern up-to-the-sec-
ond movie on national defense."
A technician interrupted us and handed
Garnett a tumbler bubbling with cham-
pagne. Garnett licked his lips. "This is
Joe Pasternak's one eccentricity. At the
start of each picture he opens a bottle of
excellent champagne and insists that
everyone from the prop boy to the star
take a sip. Even being a director has
its compensations."
And so there we have interviewed our
five representative picture pilots. And
in chatting with them, we have learned
that a director must have the courage of
a lion tamer, the nerves of a brain sur-
geon, the mentality of a mathematician.
FURTHERMORE, each director must
* be an individual with an indepen-
dent mind. To prove how directors dif-
fer, we would like to show you how each
of the five men we interviewed would
attack one historic scene.
The Scene: William Tell has refused to
bow to the tyrant Gessler's hat in the
public square. For this crime, he has
been arrested, and to save his life he
must take bow and arrow and shoot an
apple off his son's head. Now let each of
the five directors film this famous scene.
Alfred Hitchcock: "I would shoot this
without a word of dialogue. It would all
be camera angles. I would show the con-
fidence of the son in his father's aim. I
would show the hands of the father, the
eyes of the son, the apple itself. I would
film William Tell inserting the arrow in
the bow, slowly pulling the bow back. I
would obtain suspense by having the
arrow quiver up and down in the bow,
unnerving the audience into feeling it
was not being aimed right. And then,
for the final shot, I would place my
camera behind the boy's head, with the
arrow driving toward the camera."
William Dieterle: "So much depends on
who would play William Tell. I would
direct Albert Basserman or Paul Muni
or Spencer Tracy each differently. I
think, on the stage and in acting, this
scene has been wrecked by overplaying,
by making William Tell a big hero in-
stead of a mere human. I would handle
it naively with Tell an easy-going peas-
ant man. Will Rogers, in my opinion,
would have been the perfect William Tell,
a jolly, homey fellow. I don't think I'd
want Paul Muni in the lead. He wouldn't
be good. You see he just would never
shoot the apple off his son's head, because
he would think too much and never hit
the apple. I would handle the entire
story in folk-lore fashion, remembering
that the big issue of the picture must be
the Swiss fight for liberation, with this
particular scene a dramatic highlight."
Woody Van Dyke: "Frankly, I don't 1
know what I'd do with this scene until
the minute I stepped on the set. I think,
though, I'd make it grim and hardboiled."
Ben Hecht: "I would play the entire
thing for comedy. Sure. After all, how
can the shooting of an apple off some-
one's head possibly be serious? It's
always struck me as extremely funny.
Besides, I've always thought William
Tell a lousy story, and you can quote
me!"
Tay Garnett: "I don't think it should
be played straight. I can only visualize
it with 'Babe' Hardy, as William Tell,
shooting the jumpy apple off Stan
Laurel's noggin. That's my picture of
the scene."
Which, citizens, gives you an idea of
how five famous film physicians operate.
And all of which, in summary, shows
you how the men who do the dirty work
think and toil.
Incidentally, do you still think actors
do most of the work in making a movie?
66
MODERN SCREEN
THE MOST MALIGNED
WOMAN IN HOLLYWOOD
(Continued from page 27)
I was invited out to dinner and wanted
desperately to create an impression, I'd
sit there tongue-tied with self-conscious-
ness, physically unable to talk. Sooner
or later I'd have to get away from the
table, go somewhere and lie down. I'd be
ill. I made up my mind then that I was
going to find a kind of life for myself
where I'd never have to go to dinner.
"People can't seem to understand how,
if I really am self-conscious (which they
doubt), I could become an actress. And
I can't understand why they can't un-
derstand. It is the most natural thing in
the world. Acting, I can get out of my-
self. No other profession offers me such
an exciting way of escape."
She interrupted her rush of words to
smile persuasively.
"Most people on the stage," she con-
tinued, "have a curious kind of self-con-
sciousness. Playing a part, you have
smart lines to say, or dramatic lines, or
amusing lines— and you move around in
a pink spotlight, which natters you, glam-
orizes you. But when you step out of
the spotlight, you're just an ordinary per-
son. Your looks aren't spectacular, you
play lousy tennis, and you don't say
clever things. You have to have a colos-
sal ego, or be a colossal ham, not to be
self-conscious."
THERE were tales that she took acting
more seriously than any other actress
alive. How about those reports?
"I deny them," she said airily, crush-
ing out her cigarette for emphasis. "I
submit in evidence the fact that I limit
my acting to stage and screen. I don't
carry it over into private life. I relax
after working hours.
"As a job, I take acting seriously, yes.
There's no other job I'd rather do. There's
a tremendous sense of excitement about
it. And I'm hyper-critical of myself as
an actress; that story is true. But I also
give myself praise when I think I de-
serve it. When I watch something I've
done, I'm very cold-blooded, very im-
personal. Almost everyone is, who has
terrific ideals, who cares desperately how
a thing comes out, and how everybody
comes out in it. I admit I care."
But she doesn't care to be a Glamour
Girl, or she wouldn't wear slacks. Or
would she?
"A Glamour Girl — with my long,
scrawny neck?" she demanded. She
shook her head. "I have definite ideas
about what looks well on me and what
doesn't, but glamour doesn't enter into
it. Before I go into a scene, I try to
look as well as I can; then I try to for-
get my appearance. Unless I'm com-
fortable, God spare everyone.
"As for my much-mentioned slacks" —
she raised her eyebrows — "I just loathe
wearing skirts. And I'm so uncomfort-
able in a short one, I can't think. I go
mad. All rumors to the contrary, I don't
have as many as most of the men out
here. I have seven of these" — she indi-
cated the outfit she was wearing — -"and
four slack suits. I did have only one but
the Department of Sanitation objected."
She paused, then added provocatively,
"I have a street dress, too, believe it or
not!"
There were two conflicting stories
about her first descent on Hollywood. One
had it that she lay awake nights, think-
ing of ways to get her name in print;
Between my husband and his mother
...I was going crazy I
1. When Jim and I were married, and his
mother came to live with us, I had my
fingers crossed. His mother is full of old-
2. That's when the fireworks began! Morning,
noon, and night my mother-in-law was fussing.
"You'd think that child was a hot-house flow-
er," she kept raging. "Special diapers— special
foods— good glory, even a special laxative!
That baby gets so mollycoddled, it's a crime."
4. Finally it got so bad, I had to do something
to make mother stop stirring up trouble. "I
don't want to hurt your feelings," I said, "but
the doctor's orders are orders. He says a
baby's system is delicate — you can't treat it
like an adult's."
6. "And golly, mother, you've seen how pesky
Judy acts when she has to take any medicine.
But she loves the swell taste of Fletcher's Cas-
toria." Well, just then the baby smiled and
settled it! We haven't had a squabble since.
time ideas. We don't see eye to eye on lots
of things. But we hit it off great and every-
thing was swell till little Judy was born.
3. Then Jim began to side in with her! Said his
mother was bringing up babies before I was
born! Boy— did I see red! Did I tell him! "This
baby is my baby and she's going to be brought
up the modern way. Nobody's going to tell me
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the other, that she was emphatic about
not wanting any publicity whatever.
Which was correct?
"I wanted absolutely no ballyhoo," she
said. "I didn't want the public to be told
that a great creature had arrived when
that great creature might very well lay
an egg. Before I had started my first
picture, RKO agreed not to mention me
till it came out. And as soon as I finished
my part, I headed for Europe. When the
picture was previewed, nobody knew
anything about me except that I was 'an
heiress to $17,000,000', a marvelous bit of
misinformation. It made a friend of mine,
who actually was wealthy, perfectly furi-
ous. She had never been credited with
more than $11,000,000, herself. Holly-
wood found it easy to believe I was an
heiress. Only someone very rich would
dare to dress as badly as I did, or look as
horrible," she laughed.
Did she know in advance that she was
going to do "A Bill of Divorcement," or
was that first break a lucky accident?
"Oh, I knew what I was going to do all
right. For two years I had been getting
screen offers, and turning them down
because they didn't promise me any spe-
cific part. I was holding out for a lead-
ing role. Or, at least, a very good part,
one that would give me a chance to do
something. That was very, very definitely
arranged before I ever headed for Holly-
wood.
1HAD the best deal was ever given
to an unknown. Only a very ignorant
person would have done what I did. I
asked for everything. And I "was so
definite about what I wanted, they were
appalled. So I got everything. Now
that I know more about the business, I
too, am appalled by what I asked. And
amazed that I got it."
Perhaps she didn't want any publicity
before her first picture. But after it was
a hit, didn't she do everything possible to
convince people that she wasn't the usual
type? Like wearing overalls to work. And
sitting on studio curbstones, reading her
mail.
She took time to light another cigarette
before she answered. "I've been guilty of
a lot of things," she said, "but one thing
I can't be accused of is thinking up stunts
to attract attention. I don't have the right
kind of stomach for that sort of thing.
Remember my nervous indigestion. Noth-
ing brings it on so fast as a feeling of
being conspicuous.
"But — there's a large amount of stub-
born Yankee in me. If I'm criticized for
doing something that seems natural to
me, nothing can make me stop doing it
— no matter how conspicuous it makes
me, or how much bicarbonate of soda I
have to swallow.
"It seemed natural to me to wear over-
alls to work. I had been doing it for
years and nobody had ever criticized me
for it. But now, suddenly, my overalls
were horrible examples of what no girl
should wear. So were my dungarees.
They weren't 'feminine.' They were
'mannish,' 'affected' and 'ridiculous.' If I
wanted to wear something in the line of
trousers, why didn't I wear women's
slacks? For the simple reason that wo-
men's slacks weren't comfortable. In
those days they had crotches down to
the knees. Now they're tailored like
men's slacks. And every girl in her
right mind wears them. I was simply
ahead of the times.
"As for my sitting on curbs, that
seemed natural, too. Studios don't put
benches along their sidewalks. They
aren't like college campuses. And I
couldn't do all my sitting indoors. I had
a two-by-four dressing-room guaranteed
to give anybody claustrophobia. Not to
mention out and out melancholia.
"People who drove around in town
cars, as if this were New York, accused
me of putting on an act because I drove
around in 'a truck.' That's what they
called it. Now they all drive station
wagons.
"The story went out that I was acting
in my stocking feet. No explanation went
with it, so people assumed there wasn't
any. Here was more proof of the fact
that Hepburn was a freak, if not a maniac.
No one bothered to explain that I was
five feet seven and had to do something
to look shorter than my leading man."
When it first became apparent that she
didn't intend to mingle with Hollywood
society, she was accused of "trying to pull
a Garbo." Did she resent that?
"No," she said bluntly. "It was nice to
be compared to Garbo. It sort of hitched
my wagon to a star. Even if the two of
us couldn't be more different."
Didn't it ever occur to her that it might
be smart politics to attend Hollywood
parties?
"I didn't — and don't — have anything
against Hollywood parties in particular.
I just loathe all parties; whisking from
one person to another, engaging in glassy-
eyed conversation with people with whom
I have nothing in common. And I don't
believe in politics. I don't like people
who aren't sincere, so why should I ex-
pect people to like me if I'm not sincere,
myself? It isn't too difficult to be nice
to people. But to be calculatedly nice is
exhausting, and it has a horrible effect
on you finally. If you set yourself to
please others, God help you. You can't
be true to yourself at the same time.
"I was perverse enough to think I
might fall for the racket if I started list-
ening to the flatterers and eager advisers.
That explains why I was rather belliger-
ent to people, when it would have done
me more good to be sweet and helpless.
She laughed at a sudden thought.
THEY told me I should do this or that,
because people expected it from
Hepburn. One time I went to Cata-
lina with a small group of friends in a
motorboat. Just outside the breakwater
at San Pedro the motor cut out and we
started drifting. Nearby, the battleship
Maryland was riding at anchor and we
started drifting toward it. An officer
shouted over, 'Don't come alongside.' We
shouted back, 'We can't help ourselves.'
He called back, 'Throw out your anchor.'
We had an anchor, but no rope to attach
to it. I conveyed that information to the
officer. 'Don't you have a mechanic who
could fix our motor?' I yelled. He came
over, finally, in a small boat with an en-
gineer and a mechanic. I wanted him to
be impressed with our gratitude. So
when I thanked him I added, 'I'm Kath-
arine Hepburn.' He took one look at
me — with no make-up and my hair done
up. Yes,' he said, 'and I'm Greta Gar-
bo.' That was the only time I ever tried
to make my name do any good. And" —
she smiled self-deprecatingly — "where
did it get me?"
Heading for Catalina in a small motor-
boat wasn't the safest, surest way of
getting there. But then, wasn't it true
that she had never had a double in any
picture, and had done every physically
difficult stunt, herself, including that
swimming rescue of Natalie Paley in
"Sylvia Scarlett?"
"I don't know if I have a talent for act-
ing," she said, "but I do have a talent for
sports. I have a terrific urge for athletic
exploits. It's a holdover from trying to
keep up with a couple of brothers as a
youngster. I had to prove that I could
do anything they could. Now I have to
prove — to myself, if to nobody else — that
68
MODERN SCREEN
I can do anything a double might. So
far I've done all my stunts, myself. And
I'm proud of it.
"But Natalie Paley was the courageous
one, making that scene for 'Sylvia Scar-
lett.' She didn't know how to swim a
stroke, yet she wouldn't hear of using a
double. She trusted me to take care of
her. Both of us had to go into the water
fully dressed, and the water was the
Pacific in November — freezing cold. The
camera had just started turning when a
big wave hit us and threw us both against
a rock. She banged her head and was
completely knocked out. I managed to
get her part way to shore, and Cary Grant
took her the rest of the way. When she
came to, she said, 'Shall we try again?'
That's my idea of courage."
How did she prepare for a role?
"It's a long process. I have the script
on my mind for weeks, sometimes
months. First I read it over once —
quickly. I don't attempt to remember
every scene accurately. I turn my im-
agination loose and try to picture what
each scene should be like. I build up
from my hazy recollection of what I've
read. I do that until it's almost time to
start work. Then I read the script slowly
and carefully, and find out what each
scene is really like. That way, I make
myself super-conscious of what the au-
thor put into each scene; and once in a
while I find I've thought of something
that he hasn't. That's how I did 'Morning
Glory,' 'Alice Adams' and 'Stage Door.'
SHE won the Academy Award for
"Morning Glory." But what role had
she enjoyed most?
Without a second's hesitation, she
said, " 'Alice Adams.' I had more of a
hand in that than in any of the others.
I feel as if I know her better than any
other character I've ever played. For
one thing, I grew up in a small city,
just as she did. And for another, there
are so many people like her — people who
have a terrific desire to create impres-
sions, who don't realize the importance of
being comfortable. Girls exhaust them-
selves making conscious efforts to be
terribly popular with men, and they ex-
haust the men too. They don't let men
relax or give them a chance to know
them as they honestly are."
What would she tell a young girl who
wanted to be an actress?
"I'd tell her to remember that acting
rules are made to be broken. No two
people are alike and the rules which ap-
ply to me may be the very ones which
she should ignore. I'd tell her that she
can learn more about acting from direc-
tors than from actresses. And I'd tell her
that the greatest asset is a well-developed
sense of discernment. It's more important
than a well-developed figure. Believe
me! Beginners invariably get ninety per
cent bad advice, and ten per cent good
advice. It takes discernment to sort out
what applies to you, personally, and what
doesn't. The way most people start acting
is by imitation — but it takes discernment
to know what to imitate, and how much,
and when."
Something most people, especially writ-
ers, couldn't understand was why she
had avoided talking for publication for
so long. What made her so allergic to in-
terviews?
"The interviews," she said, quick as a
flash. "The first ones. After 'A Bill of
Divorcement,' as I said before, I went to
Europe, and I went steerage. Why should
I pay $500 to throw up, first class — when
I could go steerage and throw up for
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cause if by any chance reporters met
the boat and found me in steerage, it
might be catastrophic. It's lucky I fol-
lowed my hunch, for both reporters and
photographers covered my arrival. I
checked into a hotel and the place
swarmed with interviewers. They asked
questions that seemed to me to have no
bearing on the fact that I was an actress,
which was, presumably, their reason for
interviewing me. How many times had
I been married? How many children did
I have? There was a facetious note in
their questioning, so I put a facetious note
in my answers. I might have said, 'I'm
sorry, but I don't want to answer that,'
and they would have thought, 'What a
dreary girl!' So I replied humorously — or
so I thought. I told one interviewer that
I was a rabid old maid, and another
that I had seven children. But they
printed my answers dead seriously, with
the result that I sounded as if I were
just one jump from a lunatic asylum.
When I reached Hollywood, I gave a
few more interviews, and again I was
misinterpreted. So I gave up for a while.
AND then I got in bad with the press
because I wouldn't let them take
my picture indiscriminately. I didn't
mind at premieres and other public func-
tions. But when I was trying to be a
private individual, I loathed being made
conspicuous, with flashlight bulbs attract-
ing attention I didn't want. They didn't
seem able to understand that, so I started
running. And they didn't understand
that. They said it was an act. After they
said that, I couldn't stop running. The
old Hepburn integrity was at stake."
Now that she had squelched all her
critics with her tremendous success on
the stage in "The Philadelphia Story,"'
and had been welcomed back to Holly-
wood with open arms to do the screen
version, what was she going to do next?
Marry and retire? Or do another play?
"I'm going on the road for twelve
weeks. After that, I have no definite
commitments. I'm going to try to go
back and forth between the stage and
screen — combine the two. Change of
scenery, I've always heard, does things for
a person's vitality. And I place a high
value on vitality."
But where are her ambitions leading
her? What is her goal?
"I can't tell that," she said, smiling. "I
know, but I can't talk about it. I'm
afraid if I discuss my plans they'll never
get accomplished. Just as a writer with
plans for a story never gets it written if
he tells it to someone else first. The ele-
ment of surprise is gone."
That is Katharine Hepburn, 1940 A.D.
BAD BOY MAKES GOOD
(Continued from page 33)
my becoming an actor in the first place.
That was Yehudi's doing, too.
"There wasn't a drop of theatrical
blood in me. My father was a doctor
and my mother was an artist. I never
played theatre as a kid, and I didn't
like boys who did. They were sissies.
One time I portrayed Columbus in a
school play, but I tripped on my sword
and fell flat on my puss. They never
asked me to act again.
"I remember being taken to the theatre
just once. That one time, I saw Eva Tan-
guay and those legs — a rather frighten-
ing experience for a child. It might have
marked me for life.
"We lived in New York. Next door
lived William A. Brady, the theatrical
producer. But we didn't know the Bra-
dys, and they didn't know the Bogarts.
We were typical New York neighbors —
till one time Mr. Brady had a touch of
ptomaine and called in my father. After
that, I started playing with young Bill.
Every day, from the time I was ten till I
was about fifteen, we played together.
Evenings we used to go over on Riverside
Drive, where there was a lot of construc-
tion going on, and shoot the globes out
of red lanterns with air rifles — which our
families didn't know we had. We had
secret hideouts for the guns, secret signals
to warn each other of the approach of
cops. That was the kind of fun I went
for as a kid. Adventure stuff.
"When I was about fifteen, some es-
capade or other — I've forgotten which one
— caught up with me. I was sent away
to prep school, with the family devoutly
hoping I'd be able to keep out of the
Reformatory. I lasted there till I thought
it would be a good idea to duck an assis-
tant prof, a very unpopular gent, • in a
fountain. There was a whole gang of
us in on the plot, but it was a dark night,
and he didn't recognize anybody but me.
The school asked me to leave. If that
hadn't happened, maybe I wouldn't have
joined the Navy. Or maybe I would have.
Anyway, I did, and saw two years of war.
"When I came out of it I was eighteen,
and I wanted a job; it didn't matter
what kind. At young Bill's suggestion
I asked his father for one, but he couldn't
use me. I finally went to work in a
brokerage house 'way downtown. But I
got tired of getting up so early. Every
few days I'd have Bill call up, imitate my
father's voice, and tell them I was 'sick.'
After a while they decided they didn't
need me any more, and again I began
hitting Mr. Brady for a job. He put me
to work as an office boy and I worked
up to stage manager.
I WENT on the stage the first time as a
gag. I'd been kidding Neil Hamilton
about the soft life of an actor. 'Acting
doesn't look very hard to me,' I'd said.
The funny thing — typical of Bogart — was
that that was what I actually thought.
The last night of the play, he dared me to
go on in his place. I took the dare, and it
was all a horrible fiasco. In one scene,
an actor was supposed to be mad at me,
and I thought he was really mad; he
scared the hell out of me. It was the
first time I had been face to face with
actors at work. I didn't realize how con-
vincing they could be!
"After that experience, I thought,
'Never again.' What changed my mind
was finding out I'd never get rich as a
stage manager. I was twenty and I
wanted to get ahead in the world, so I
went to Mr. Brady and told him my prob-
lem. He said, 'Why don't you become
an actor? Actors earn good money.' So,
to make a fortune, I became an actor."
He turns to Mayo. "Honey, do you
know how long I've been trying to get
enough money together for a boat?"
"Yes, dear," she sighs, as if the subject
ie very old-hat, indeed. "I know — years."
Sometime or other, couldn't he have
muscled into the Front Office and said,
in his most tight-lipped gangster manner,
"I want more dough, or else!"
"Yeah," Bogie says, "but I wouldn't
have scared anybody. I'm not a big name
70
MODERN SCREEN
c
p
If her Diary could only talk back!
—yet. Besides, I'm known as the guy
who always squawks about roles, but
never refuses to play one.
"That's for two reasons. I admit I'm
no picker of what's good for me, and I
don't believe in taking suspensions. When
you go on suspension for refusing a role,
you go out of circulation. And what
usually happens when you go back?
You get the same part in another picture.
"I've never forgotten a piece of advice
Holbrook Blinn gave me when I was a
young squirt and asked him how I could
get a reputation as an actor. He said,
'Just keep working.' The idea is that if
you're always busy, sometime somebody
is going to get the idea that you must be
good."
To keep busy, Bogie has had to make
ten to fourteen pictures a year. ("It has
been like doing one long picture with
different characters walking in.") But
it has started to pay dividends. It started,
in fact, with "It All Came True." That
was originally offered to George Raft —
who decided he'd rather do "House
Across the Bay." Looking around for a
substitute actor, the studio wondered if
Bogie wouldn't do.
"Yehudi — there's that man again — was
right on hand that time. And he cer-
tainly was looking out for me when 'High
Sierra' came up!"
In the picture, you'll see Humph doing
several things he hasn't done before —
for example, making violent love to
Ida Lupino. He used to say that love-
making was something he'd never be
seen doing on the screen. Now he may
have to eat his words.
HE asserts, "They won't make a Great
Lover out of me if I can help it."-
However, there is evidence to support
the contention that he has sex appeal. The
Career Girls' Club of Hollywood recently
voted him the actor they would most like
to marry if they could!
He's also going to put up a fight against
being a glamour boy, now that he's a star.
"I'm allergic to glamour. It's all they can
do to keep shoes on me. I have exactly
three suits. It's my stand-in who has
eighteen."
And stardom isn't going to make him
more dignified — if he has anything to say
about it. "Where's the fun in being dig-
nified?" he demands. "Remember that
old phrase 'going Hollywood?' What
people meant was 'putting on false dig-
nity.' That's gone out of fashion. A few
years ago, everybody tried to be dignified,
and everybody was bored stiff. Nobody
dared to take a drink, nobody dared to
do anything a producer might not like.
Nowadays, if people don't like producers,
they walk up and sock 'em on the nose.
And they still have their jobs next day,
too."
There isn't any danger, either, of his
going "arty" now that he has taken over
a role intended for Muni. Not so long
ago, he was working with a young actress
who will be nameless. She resented the
speed with which the director was get-
ting scenes on film. She finally said to
Bogie, "Everything's going too fast.
There's no time to work up a mood. And
the picture will probably be a sensational
success. . . . Sometime, wouldn't you like
to do an artistic flop?" His answer was
typical — a thunderous, "Gawd, NO!"
What is his goal in life?
"To own a boat. It doesn't have to be
a big, super-colossal yacht. It can be just
one size larger than a dinghy. After I
get it, I suppose my goal will be to find
time to use it.
"I don't have any great acting ambi-
tions. I just want to do a good job, if
possible. I bump into people on sets who
have seventeen other things on their
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low-profit stores. Birth to shoe size 8.
W. T. Grant Co. S. S. Kresge Co. J. J. Newberry Co.
H. L. Green Co., Inc. Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Metropolitan Chain Stores. Inc. Schulte - United Stores
I. Stiver & Bros. F. & W. Grand
G. R. Kinney Company
FREE: Baby foot
measuring scale
i n pamphlet on
fitting. Moran
ShoeCo.,Dept.M
Carlyle, 111.
WEE WALKERS for the wee walker
minds. They're thinking about how to
get in better with the director, how to
get more close-ups, or about some party
tonight. A lot of people think I'm a
stuffed shirt, think I don't have any fun
because I don't party when I'm working.
But I can't bat around at night lapping
up champagne cocktails and do good
work the next day. Which is the thing
I want to do most. As far as I'm con-
cerned, work is not just a dull interlude
between parties."
He also suspects that a lot of people
think he's a sour-puss. "They've seen me
with my face set hard for gangster roles
and don't stop to think that maybe there's
a trick to setting it hard, and that I can
unset it, too." He gives an exaggerated,
toothsome grin to illustrate. "Anyway,
even a sour -puss can have a sense of
humor. That's what I liked about 'It All
Came True.' It gave me a chance to
prove it. Mind you, I'm no wit. I've got
to have some very brilliant man write me
devastating things to say. I'm no clown,
but a lot of things strike me terribly
funny."
ONE of the things is— that he has to
work hard on the screen to prove he's
tough and has to work hard off the screen
to prove he isn't. "You should see me
working in my garden when the photog-
raphers come around!" he says. "Some-
body from some big garden magazine
interviewed me at the studio one time,
and I told him about the petunias I'd
grown. 'Six feet tall,' I said. He said,
thoroughly awed, 'Amazing!' "
Mayo interrupts to say, "I nearly died
when he came home and told me what
he'd said to the man. You know how
close to the ground petunias grow!"
He wishes that some kind soul would
assure the public that he doesn't say
"dese" and "dose" except in the movies.
As a rule, he's easy-going, but he really
boiled over when he was charged with
being a Communist. And he's still mad.
"A screwball, who was branded by
Dean Landis of Harvard Law School as
a 'pathological liar,' told a Los Angeles
County Grand Jury that I was a Com-
munist. He named some other actors,
too. Without even giving me a chance to
deny the accusation, the politically ambi-
tious District Attorney of Los Angeles
made the charge public. It was the worst
blow I have ever had in my life.
"I was fighting mad— determined to
right this injustice. And in a hurry. I
happened to see that Congressman
Martin Dies, head of the Congressional
committee investigating un-American
activities, was in Los Angeles. I called
him that night, told him the situation
and asked him if he would give me an
immediate hearing. At 10 o'clock the
next morning I appeared before him, an-
swered all his questions, and my business
manager also took the stand and testified
that I have never contributed any money
to any political cause whatsover.
"Congressman Dies not only exonerated
me completely but he said that during his
committee's three-year investigation of
un-American activities, my name had
never been mentioned. That's something.
But I'm still burned that my whole future
was jeopardized by one man's charge that
I was a Communist — and that I had to
request a hearing to clear myself. I con-
sider myself a citizen of Los Angeles. I
own a home here, and I maintain my
mother in a home here, and my sister in
another. I pay taxes like any other citi-
zen. And I consider myself entitled to
the same rights as any other citizen."
The home he refers to is on a little
dead end street at the edge of Beverly
Hills, just off Sunset Boulevard. He and
Mayo call it "Sluggy Hollow." He's par-
tial to the word "sluggy." It's one of his
pet names for Mayo.
He also likes being interviewed. Says,
"It's like being psychoanalyzed."
Just to hurry
194 1 along,
Baby Sandy
dresses up to
greet it weeks
ahead of time.
She has such a
bigfuture ahead
of her that
she'd just as
soon skip the in-
tervening years
entirely!
MODERN SCREEN
CHRISTMAS TREE
SUGGESTIONS
(Continued from page 54)
Pajamas
In plaid cotton flannelette by Kayser.
Butcher-boy top may be worn as blouse
with ski-trousers, too.
Compact
A Volupte snuff-box in black enamel
adorned with a decorative horse.
Watches
Styled for men and women by Raleigh.
Natural yellow rolled gold plate; non-
tarnishable metal backs; jeweled move-
ments.
Handkerchiefs
Hand-rolled, pure silk chiffon for eve-
ning. One is sequin-trimmed; the other
has set-in velvet bows.
Slippers
Joyce wedgie mules in teddy-bear
cloth. Pink, blue or white.
Hiro
Exciting new game for indoor sportsters
and distracted hostesses.
Bag
Soft suede envelope by Wilder, with
startling jeweled ciasp. In black or
brown.
Sweater
Gay "Swissie" cardigan, colorfully em-
broidered.
Evening Dress
Important dance frock in white rayon
brocade with deep black velveteen
flounce.
Socks
Knee-highs by Kayser, for winter sports-
wear. Of extra-heavy pure wool.
Jewelry
Martha Sleeper's new creation — "Holly
Wreath" — in green and red light-as-air
plastic. Bracelet, pin and necklace set.
Fur Jacket
Waist length with swirl sleeves. In
skunk-dyed or sable-dyed Opossum.
Mittens
All wool made to look like hand-knits,
by Wear-Right. In children's sizes, too.
Umbrella
Waterproofed Celanese rayon taffeta
in gay colors and handles.
*Arleen Whelan and
George Montgomery
— romantic featured
players for 20th Cen-
tury-Fox Films.
How thousands of Adored
Women help prevent unlovely
Rough, Chapped HANDS
adorable soft hands — every girl can
A keep them all her life! In spite of
housework, constant use of water, or
outdoor exposure, which cruelly rob
your hand skin of its natural soften-
ing moisture. It's, so easy to furnish
new, beautifying moisture for your
skin— with Jergens Lotion.
This Lotion contains 2 ingredients
many doctors use to help smooth and
soften harsh skin. No stickiness! For
silken-soft hands, use Jergens Lotion.
WEE!
SOFT. ADORABLE HANDS
YOUR CHANCE FOR LOVABLE HANDS
MAIL THIS COUPON NOW
(Paste on penny postcard, if you like)
The Andrew Jergens Company, 3718 Alfred Street,
Cincinnati, Ohio. (In Canada: Perth, Ontario)
Let me see how Jergens Lotion helps keep my hands
tenderly soft. Please send my purse-size bottle of
Jergens Lotion, free.
Name_
Address-
I I
DECEMBER, 1940
73
DON'T BE "THE GIRL
WITH A RUN"
Always carry RUN-R-STOP
in your purse. Comes in K
smart colored vanity. Just \
one drop of this amazing
clear liquid stops runs and
snags instantly, perma-
nently — even in the new
"nylon" stockings. It's the
only product of its kind —
a stocking life-saver. And it
leaves no black marks after
washing. Get it today at any
drug,dept,shoeor lOcstore
— or send coin or stamps to
RUN-R-ST
49 E. 21st St.N.Y.
Dept N
Guaranteed as
advertised by
Good Housekeeping
(15c each in Canada)
A SKIN THAT MEN ADORE
(Coninued from page 44)
Complete, tube in vanity
ff/LUAk Away
• Now, at home, you can quickly and easily tint telltale
streaks of gray to natural-appearing shades — from lightest
blonde to darkest black. Brownatone and a small brush
does it — or your money back. Used for 28 years by thou-
sands of women (men, too) — Brownatone is guaranteed
harmless. No skin test needed, active coloring agent is
purely vegetable. Cannot affect waving of hair. Lasting — ■
does not wash out. Just brush or comb it in. One applica-
tion imparts desired color. Simply retouch as new gray
appears. Easy to prove by tinting a test lock of your hair.
60c at drug or toilet counters on a money-back guarantee.
Betain your youthful charm. Get BROWNATONE today.
beauty, so treat it with the kindness and
care it really deserves.
In winter, winds and fluctuating tem-
peratures— dry artificial heat one minute
and damp blustery cold the next — -water,
soil, everything seems to conspire to
roughen and redden your skin as well as
to generally ruin its comfort. So arm
yourself with a generous supply of rich
emollient creams and lotions. Before and
after every exposure protect your skin
with a filmy application of one or the
other. Use a foundation cream under
your make-up and, at night, after a
thorough cleansing, massage one of the
richer creams into your face and neck.
KEEP a cream or lotion, not only on
your dressing table, but also on the
shelf above your kitchen sink, in the
bath-room and at your place of business.
Don't forget it when you go traveling,
too. You need such beauty pick-ups more
than ever when you get away from your
old familiar brand of water, weather,
food and sleeping habits.
Fine, fluffy, non-drying face powder is
an important winter beauty accessory,
too. Pat it on lightly — never rub it on as
if it were so much lacquer.
And don't be tempted to leave off eat-
ing fresh fruits and vegetables just be-
cause they are a little harder to get in
winter. There's nothing so disastrous to
a beautiful complexion as a steady
diet of heavy meats, starches, pastries and
canned fare without a proper balance of
fresh beans, tomatoes, oranges, apples
and all the other vitamin-laden farm
products that you can get your hands on.
Sleep is a real ally to a lovely com-
plexion, too, and so are copious quan-
tities of drinking water, outdoor exercise,
deep breathing and all the other health-
promoting practises.
When you massage your face — and you
should frequently — always use a lubri-
cating cream and stroke up and out with
deep, firm, rotary motions, never down
or inward. But remember this, that
wrinkles which come from worry,
"nerves," poor circulation or even poor
lighting cannot be erased by any amount
of massaging. They must be attacked at a
very different source. Relax, be gay,
alert and active, both physically and
mentally. Let your pet peeves and wor-
ries go and watch the subtle change that
comes over your complexion. Never be-
fore in our history have we had such
truly wonderful cosmetics to guard that
first line of beauty's defense — our price-
less complexions. But be sure you give
your own an equal chance to profit by
the application of these aids to nature.
Then you will indeed have the kind of
skin that men adore.
It's funny how a blot of ink is more
conspicuous than all the clean paper
that surrounds it and, similarly, how a
rough, red hand will distract your atten-
tion from a face that may, in itself, be
perfectly lovely. You won't ever have
to worry about that, though, if you're
smart enough to keep a jar of that re-
markable Barrington Hand Cream on
your dressing table and another at your
place of business — whether that's an of-
fice, hospital, shop or just the kitchen
sink. For Barrington is one hand cream
that actually does more than its makers
claim. It not only softens, whitens and
protects your skin. Barrington really
soothes rough, chapped, even cracked,
hands — and works in double quick time,
too. Considering its consistent effective-
ness we're constantly amazed at its mod-
est price. Barrington Hand Cream is
something to write home about any time
of year — but, with the chapping season
now getting into full swing, it's a simple
necessity for skin health and beauty.
By the way, the makers of Barrington
Hand Cream are now presenting an ex-
cellent new all-purpose face cream which
not only cleanses but softens and pro-
tects, and can even be used as a make-up
foundation. It is delightfully smooth and
delicately fragrant. Although it is new
to the market, this fine cream has been
tried, tested and improved in the labora-
tory until its makers believe it to be
practically perfect. Ask for Barrington
All Purpose Face Cream the very next
time you go shopping.
When your mother was a girl we'll bet
two to one that she used — and got good
results from — a remarkable deep pore
cleanser called Pompeian Milk Massage
Cream. Well, that same old beauty
stand-by is still winning friends and in-
fluencing the younger generation. Made
of 70% milk, this unusual cream brings
dirt and grime simply rolling out of
clogged-up pores, leaving your skin silken
smooth and radiantly clean. Mother knew
a thing or three about cleansing and
protecting her complexion for, after all
these years, we must agree that neither
she — nor you — could make a wiser choice
than this same delicately smooth, efficient
cleanser still known as Pompeian Milk
Massage Cream. Look for it in your
neighborhood store and see if you aren't
delighted with your discovery.
AFTER a winter's bath, did you ever
give yourself a rub-down with Wood-
bury's Almond Rose Lotion? No? Then
you have a real treat in store. All that
dry, itchy skin that tingled for lack of
moisture will become soft and velvety —
and besides, the fresh, clean scent is too
lovely and luxurious for words! Apply
Woodbury's Almond Rose Lotion gener-
ously to arms, elbows, knees, heels and
ankles and, of course, use it freely on
face, neck and shoulders. Woodbury's
Almond Rose Lotion smooths into your
skin evenly, without a trace of stickiness,
and its genuinely feminine fragrance will
give your spirits a real lift. Its healing
qualities will prevent that "wintry
weathered" skin so unnecessarily uncom-
fortable. Don't say we never told you!
We are now about to let you in on
something really different — and we think
that you'll be as excited as we are about
this new — of all things — cosmetic brace-
let! Every girl likes to wear jewelry,
but it isn't every pretty bracelet you
find that can actually be put to work.
Believe it or not, though, with a flick of
your finger, this one can be transformed
into a complete make-up kit! A turn of
the band and there you have a lovely
natural shade of powder, lipstick, rouge,
three puffs and two mirrors — all con-
cealed right inside one bracelet! The
bracelet itself is very nicely designed and
comes in a variety of colors to match
your winter wardrobe. Such a decorative
bit of costume jewelry is grand for dates,
too, because it does away with stuffing
your purse jam full with a lot of mis-
cellaneous cosmetics. Oh, yes, and you
can even buy refills. Would you like to
know more about this cosmetic novelty?
Your name and address on a penny pos-
tal will bring the good news post haste.
74
MODERN SCREEN
I want every
young mother
to know...
About this IMPROVED
'%Vich Way that RcU^smeryJ
CHEST, COUGHING COLDS
Now when your child is suffering with a
cold, get right after misery. . . in a hurry. . .
the improved Vicks way.
This wonderful treatment — perfected by
Vicks staff of Doctors — is a better way to use
time-tested Vicks VapoRub and make its val-
uable poultice-and-vapor action more effec-
tive. It's called the "VapoRub Massage" and
it's remarkably simple, remarkably quick.
First massage Vicks VapoRub for 3 minutes
on IMPORTANT RIB-AREA OF BACK as well
as throat and chest. Spread a thick layer on
chest, cover with warmed cloth. Then let this
MORE THOROUGH treatment go to work!
It eases bronchial irritation, coughing,
muscular tightness or soreness, helps break
up local congestion in upper air passages,
makes breathing easier. . .and so relieves the
child's misery, relieves you of worry!
BE SURE! To get the benefits of this improved
Vicks treatment use only genuine, time-tested
Vicks VapoRub.
PENETRATES . . . deep into the air
passages with soothing medicinal
vapors, inhaled with every breath.
STIMULATES . . . surface of chest and
back like a warming, comforting^
poultice or plaster.
GOOD NEWS
(Continued from page 51)
'TIL STUDIO US DO PART
Hollywood "know-it-alls" were appalled
when Albert Basserman asked to be released
from his Warner Bros, contract merely be-
cause the studio did not give his actress-wife
a job. They branded him "ungrateful" be-
cause the Warners had offered him his first
opportunity in this country and "impractical"
because his working permit states he may
be employed by no one but the Brothers
while he's in the United States. But, curi-
ously, no one tried to understand what lay
behind his action. Not a soul stopped to
consider that Basserman is 72 years old, that
before coming to America he and his wife
had worked together for more than a quarter
of a century, and that, furthermore, he was
not the first actor to take his stand on the
side of loyalty. Charles Laughton, for ex-
ample, refused to appear on a recent Bing
Crosby broadcast unless Elsa Lanchester
was invited to star on a subsequent program,
and also asked that Miss Lanchester be
signed for a picture at RKO before he'd put
his signature on a contract of his own. Both
Miss Lanchester and Mrs. Basserman are
competent actresses and their husbands
know it. And, knowing it, they have no de-
sire to overshadow the women they love.
To them, there are things more important
than their own careers.
THE RETURN OF FRANK APPEAL
Sex appeal is booked for a return engage-
ment in Hollywood. After several years of
hiding behind such misnomers as "oomph"
and "glamour," good old S. A. is staging a
comeback in the person of gorgeous Veron-
ica Lake. Blonde, blue-eyed, exactly twenty-
one, Veronica is an Arthur Hornblow dis-
covery and so pregnant with allure that
Paramount, who refers to her role in "I
Wanted Wings" as the "hottest spot" in
films, admit they mean it in more ways than
one! They've just one complaint to make
about their new star. They charge she's in-
terfering with the work of the men on the
lot. Not that she means to, of course, but
studio chieftains are up in arms because
technicians, "props" and others spend too
many business hours in the studio projection
room, running off the celluloid-sizzling screen
tests that landed Veronica a contract.
OAKIE'S JACK
A year ago, Hollywoodites used to get a few
beers under their belts and sit around and
wail for "poor Jack Oakie, a swell guy who
can't get a break." But they're not wailing
any more. Ever since word seeped out that
he was great in "The Great Dictator," Oakie's
been "hot." New jobs have been rolling at
him and, at the moment, he's the highest paid
person in the cast of "Tin Pan Alley!" True,
Alice Faye's the star, but Alice earns only
$4,000 a week, or thereabouts, while Jack,
who's contracted for six weeks, is doing his
stuff for $6,000 per. What's more, if his tal-
ents are required for two weeks over the
contracted term, he'll be upped to $7,500
and, if he's needed beyond the eight week
period, he'll be paid $9,000 weekly till the
picture's completed! Poor Jack Oakie! Why
doesn't someone give that guy a break!
THIRD TIME THE CHARM?
The status of the Cary Grant-Barbara Hutton
romance still has round-towners confused.
They don't doubt that the pair are "gone"
on each other but, remembering Barbara's
two previous unhappy marital adventures,
(the first is said to have ended with a settle-
ment of $2,000,000 on Prince Alexis Mdivani,
and the second, in a settlement of $1,500,000
on Baron Kurt Haugwitz von Reventlow who
is still dissatisfied) they wonder if she'd con-
template another jump. Noncommittal Babs
has only this to say: "Knowing Cary has
been the biggest thrill of my life. He's the
first man who ever showered me with candy,
flowers and trinkets — without sending me a
bill at the end of the month!"
COPS AND RIBBERS
The ribbing Gene Autry's taking these days
is enough to drive a lesser man to drink.
Gene's got it coming, though, for after play-
ing the rootin', tootin', shootin' hero of count-
less cowboy dramas he proved a miserable
bust in a little drama of his own. Returning
home late the other night, Gene stepped into
his drawing room in time to see a lone rob-
ber slipping out a window with the most
valuable gun in the Autry collection clutched
in his hand. And did the intrepid star, who
has single-handedly routed scores of des-
peradoes, tear after the villain and, unas-
sisted, bring him to justice? Nothing like
it! Gene flew to the phone and called the
cops! Probably figured they've got to earn
a living, too.
MEET THE CHAMP
And speaking of Gene, did you know that
"Champion," the horse on whom he cinemat-
ically rides to glory, is the current glamour
boy of the equine world? Horse-fanciers,
country-wide, have begged Gene to sell him
and have actually submitted offers for the
animal totalling over $100,000. That's more
than most racing steeds are worth, but Gene's
not biting. He paid only $150 for the big fel-
low eight years ago and, according to Gene,
"Champ," who was the first horse to take
a transcontinental air trip, "isn't even a
thoroughbred. He's just small part Arabian
and most part plain horse, but we've seen
plenty together and that's the way it'll al-
ways be."
HOLLYWOOD TRADING POST
Newest wrinkle in Hollywood's charitable
crazy quilt is Ann Lehr's "Memento Mart,"
a shop at which gadgets and clothing owned
DECEMBER, 1940
75
RUBY RED
You'll look lovely in Irresistible': new sensation-
al lipstick . . . for "Ruby Red" is a rich, sparkling
red . . . the season's liveliest, most flattering col-
or. Blends brilliantly with all the fashionable
new clothes colors. Applies smoothly and stays
on for hours because of the secret new Whip-
Text process. Get Irresistible "Ruby Red" Lip-
stick today, with matching Face Powder, Rouge
and Powder Foundation, and know the superb
flattery of a complete Irresistible make-up.
by stars and craved by fans may be pur-
chased at a fraction of their original cost.
The "Mart's" been open just a few weeks
but has already assembled the screwiest
assortment of articles ever embraced by
four walls. And how the fans are going for
it! They're swamping Miss Lehr with" re-
quests for everything from Lana Turner's
sweaters to Dotty Lamour's teeth braces!
Items most in demand are empty perfume
bottles, dress clips and hosiery, but Miss Lehr
is also attempting to fill orders for Gene
Autry's old spurs, a belt Clark Gable wore
in "Boom Town," a battered fender from
Tyrone Power's car, the sash of a dress Lo-
retta Young wore in "The Doctor Takes A
Wife" (for a male moviegoer) and the cos-
tumes that decked Doug Fairbanks, Jr., in
"Gunga Din" (for an exclusive girls' finishing
school!) The most unusual request of all,
however, has come from a young woman
in St. Louis. She, heaven only knows why,
wants Gary Cooper's toothbrush!
THE MAN I MARRIED— NO. 2
They're saying it was a severe case of ca-
reeritis that put the skids under the Carole
Landis-Willis Hunt marriage. Carole, if the
stories are to be believed, revelled in the pub-
licity she received prior to her altar trek, and
it took her only two moon's time to decide
that magazine and newspaper editors
thought her better copy as a Miss than as a
matron. Whether or not a divorce will re-
store the publicity she's said to desire, only
the future will tell, but it's our guess that a
good performance and not single-blessed-
ness is the thing that will again make Carole
the pet of the press.
OUR TOWN
Talk about feminine vanity! There's been a
hot feud on in town ever since a Swash-
buckling hero at a major studio grew jeal-
ous of the "beauty" of a dark-eyed male
player cast in his last picture. The trouble
arose when both were assigned to a dueling
sequence and the leading man, realizing
his opponent's tumbling black curls would
make feminine hearts thump harder than his
own red-blonde crop, insisted that said op-
ponent wear a helmet throughout the scene
although he himself appeared bareheaded!
NOT FOR PUBLICITY
When Mary Beth Hughes first made her
Cinema City debut, she cut through the town's
stagline like a bolt of unsheathed lightning.
Every attractive bachelor in Hollywood was
on her date list, and for two - months she
whirled from party to party and night club
to night club. Then, suddenly, it all stopped.
Mary Beth discovered leading men bored
her to tears and leaped off the merry-go-
round. She stayed off it, too, until her press
agent suggested, a few weeks ago, that she
pose for some publicity shots with another
of his clients, a Mr. Robert Stack. That did
it. Mary Beth has a different slant on lead-
ing men today. She's dated Bob every night
since they met, except for those few days
he had to spend out of town on business —
and then she received one special delivery
letter, two air mail-special deliveries and four
wires from him in a single morning! Neither
will admit it's serious, but Mary Beth's sport-
ing a new diamond solitaire and it's ru-
mored they're secretly married. Yessir, it
looks as though Miss Hughes is back on the
merry-go-round — but this time it's exclusive!
DID] A KNOW
That Patti McCarty uses boss Dorothy La-
mour's old sarongs as head scarves . . .
That Gary Cooper is shopping around for a
plane . : . That Shirley Temple's brother,
Jack, is an instructor of dramatics at Stan-
ford University . . . That Jack Carson, con-
sidered a newcomer- to the screen, is now
appearing in his 56th picture . . . That Pris-
cilla and Rosemary Lane, who have always
shared sleeping quarters, are to have sep-
arate bedrooms at last . . . That Josef von
Sternberg continues to be Marlene Dietrich's
No. 1 adviser in all matters concerning her
career . . . That Florette Debusky of Potts-
ville, Pa., was given the name Dana Dale
by Walter Winchell . . . That Andy Devine
is replacing his station wagon door with a
sliding panel that will allow him more room
to get in and out . . . That the story of "Citi-
zen Kane" is suspiciously like the life story
of William Randolph Hearst . . . That Maria
Korda, Alexander's ex, is bringing Maurice
Maeterlinck, author of "The Blue Bird," to
Hollywood . . . That William Holden won't
go into a scene without money in his pocket
STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE
ACTS OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24. 1912, AND MARCH 3, 1933
of MODERN SCREEN, published monthly at New York, N. Y., for October 1, 1940.
State of New York (
County of New York, N. Y. j ss
Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the State and county aforesaid, personally appeared Helen
Meyer, who, having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that she is the Business Manager
of MODERN SCREEN and that the following is, to the best of her knowledge and belief, a true
statement of the ownership, management, etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the above
caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, as amended by the Act of March 3, 1933, embodied in
section 537, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this form, to wit:
1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing editor, and business manager are:
Publisher, George T. Delacorte, Jr., 149 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.; Editor, Pearl H. Finley,
149 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.; Managing Editor, None; Business Manager, Helen Meyer, 149
Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
2. That the owner is: Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 149 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. ; George
T. Delacorte, Jr., 149 Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. ; Margarita Delaeorte, 149 Madison Avenue,
New York, N. Y.
3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per cent or
more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities are: None.
4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security
holders, if any, contain not only the list of stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the
books of the company but also, in cases where .the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books
of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for
whom such trustee is acting, is given; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing
affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and
security holders who do not appear upon the books of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities
in a capacity other than that of a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe that any other
person, association, or corporation has any interest direct or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other
securities than as so stated by her.
HELEN MEYER, Business Manager,
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 19th day of September, 1940.
ALFREDA R. COLE
Commission Expires March 30, 1942.
76
MODERN SCREEN
because he claims that makes him feel im-
portant . . . That Cesar Romero tripped and
fell flat on his face while dancing at Ciro's
one evening . . . That Paramount allocated
a measly $250,000 for the publicity and ex-
ploitation campaign on "North West Mounted
Police" . . . That Alfred Hitchcock reduced
thirty pounds in nine weeks, but his dressing-
room door still bears a sign reading "Mr.
Hitchcock's Corral?"
MR. PRODUCER GOES TO THE
MOVIES
Movieland producers, generally, scorn the
customary method of entertaining guests,
Instead of inviting friends over for a simple
supper and a rubber of bridge, they serve
elaborate nine-course dinners and, when the
last fingerbowl has been cleared away, es-
cort their visitors to their private projection
rooms where they unreel their latest celluloid
triumphs. One such producer is Twentieth
Century-Fox's Sol Wurtzel who played host
to a group of mid-western "little theatre" di-
rectors recently and after dinner presented
his latest opus, an amusing something called
"The Bride Wore Crutches." The directors
sat in silence for an hour and, when the film
was ended, rose from their seats and gath-
ered around Mr. Wurtzel to offer their opin-
ions, but before they could spout forth one
of them had to tap Mr. W. gently on the
shoulder — to wake him up!
JIMMY'S HOUSE-PEST
Jimmy Stewart's been a soul in torment since
Burgess Meredith arrived to share his bed
and board, for Burgess has a habit that's
driving his host to the booby-hatch. He in-
vites beautiful blondes to dinner and then
fails to show up himself! Jimmy, left alone
with a lot of strange women, tries ducking
out side doors and rear windows, but the
blondes always pull him back. They mis-
take his annoyance for shyness and, having
been led, feel it their duty to spend the eve-
ning putting the steaming Mr. Stewart right
at ease!
PASSION BY PROXY
Brought up to be courteous to guests, Jimmy
has said little to Burgess about the blondes,
and only once has he called his maddening
visitor on the carpet. That was the time
Burgess, after his first meeting with Olivia
de Havilland, asked her to the house ,and
forgot to turn up. It wasn't that Jimmy ob-
jected to entertaining Olivia. Far from it!
But he didn't think his best pal had any right
to stand up his best girl. The next morning,
therefore, he buttonholed Burgess and de-
manded that a formal apology be made to
Olivia. Meredith was genuinely contrite,
and, when Jimmy had walked away, in-
structed his valet to send Miss de Havilland
some flowers and an appropriate note. The
valet, knowing nothing of the Stewart-de
Havilland romance, assured his master
everything would be taken care of. And
everything was. The following day Olivia
found buried in a bouguet of roses a note
which read — "My own darling: It was un-
pardonable of me to have forgotten so pre-
cious a rendezvous. I know you will forgive
me and adore me always. With all my love,
Burgess." And now poor Jimmy's madder
than ever!
SHE'D CARVE A NEW MAP
If Carole Lombard ever slits Clark Gable's
throat, a little lady in Milwaukee won't be
surprised. She's been expecting that to hap-
pen ever since the afternoon she came upon
Carole on the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" set, and
noticed the beautiful Mrs. G. fondling a mur-
derous-looking straight-edged razor, a luna-
tic gleam burning in her eyes. "What are
you thinking of, my dear?" the little lady
asked. And Carole looked up. "Thinking
of?" she repeated absently. "Oh, just how
much I'd enjoy wrapping this around my old
man's neck!" The little lady paled and ran
away, but she need not have, because what
Carole failed to add was that she'd spent a
full week learning to manipulate the instru-
ment for a scene in "Mr. and Mrs." — and
that she wanted to test her skill on Clark
who, for a seguence in "Comrade X," will
have his chin decked out in a black beard!
THE MAN I MARRIED
There are those who say the freguent marital
rifts of the John Barrymores smell faintly of
publicity. However, according to Elaine,
there was nothing phony about their last big,
beautiful bout. Mrs. Barrymore reports that
she and John actually had a terrific argu-
ment, (the subject of which she prefers not
to divulge) and that when it reached its
peak John shrieked, "Get out of my house!"
"Oh, yeah!" return-shrieked Elaine. ''You
get out of my house!" And John got. Funny
thing about these bust-ups is the fact that
whenever John moves out, his mother-in-law
moves in and, whenever John returns, his
mother-in-law moves right out again!
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77
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SOFTER • STRONGER
MORE ABSORBENT
FUN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT
(Continued from page 37)
cite the case of a once famous star who
got a job selling shoes. He was an ex-
cellent salesman, but customers avoided
him. Eventually he lost the job. Why?
Because it is embarrassing to the public
to look at a has-been!
"These are some of the things that
flying helps you rationalize. I don't
mean that it minimizes the importance
of matters like your job and your home.
Our new place is very important to us.
It's a little house — twenty-five years old,
with a little old stable and corral on
three acres of land. You know, the kind
of a place that rates the old slogan 'a
place where you can raise a carrot and
keep a bee!' We are paying for it on
the F.H.A. plan, and we have all early-
American furniture in it. Another thing
that we think is important is saving for
the future. Though we have no idea
what medium of exchange we'll all be
using a few years from now, we're tak-
ing a chance on saving.
KIDS? Not yet. Not when you know
there's a chance they may be can-
non-fodder."
Bob changed the subject abruptly. "I
hope people won't think fliers have a
high-hat attitude toward the things
everyone else thinks are fun. The reason,
for instance, that Viv and I don't go to
night clubs is that we worked in them
so long that we lost our taste for them.
I don't drink because I don't like the
stuff and also because a flier's first duty
is to keep sober. In the old days, pilots
were known as slap-happy guys with
chronically bent elbows. Nowadays, it's
different; every six months there's a
physical exam and we have to pass that
test. The round of social pleasures is
out of our lives, not because we're anti-
social, but because flying takes so much
time. You need 150 hours a year in the
air in order to keep your license. Blind
flying takes more time. Then there's my
instructing. I've taught Viv to fly, and
now I'm teaching Cap'n James Smith.
"There's still another phase of our life
which might be called abnormal. We
keep no servants — partly for reasons of
economy (flying is expensive) and partly
because we hate the ignominy of having
to order our fellow human beings about.
Viv does all the cooking and Cap'n Jim
does the dishes and the general clean-
ing. Jim is a Negro, pleasant-faced,
clean-cut, a college graduate. He is our
friend, not our servant. He has all his
meals with us. We have a 'Be kind to
Jim' week at our house, just as we have
a 'Be kind to Bob' week, and a 'Be kind
to Viv' week. During the 'Be kind to
Jim' week, we wait on him.
"The color of a man's skin," said Bob,
as the hour ticked by and the time came
for him to drive back, "is another thing
that doesn't seem to matter — up there.
The things that do count are the ones
that concern everyone. Conscription,
for example. I'm all for it. I think we
should have had it long ago. The manu-
facture of munitions should be speeded
up. We should have the greatest air
force in the world. There should be a
ring of steel around the Americas. And
I don't believe that conscription means
the downfall of democracy and the set-
ting up of a dictatorship either. I have
too much faith in the soundness of the
American people to believe that any-
thing like that could exist here.
"I have had a pet theory for years
which is now being put into practice.
It is that the two things that will -con-
tribute most to eventual lasting world
peace are radio and flying. Flying will
bring us closer together, physically; radio
will bring us closer together, ideologi-
cally. Each in its way will help make us
neighbors. When we can all rub elbows
and trade dreams one with the other,
we will be friends, on the old premise
that to know all is to forgive all."
"And if you should have to go to
war?" I said.
"If there must be war, I'll go gladly.
After all," he laughed, "a lot of other
'juveniles' will have to go, too! I won't
be alone. That's the whole thing, you
see, we aren't alone anymore, any of us.
The thought of it doesn't worry me, not
for myself, at least. I couldn't do any-
thing but go, so I might as well be gay
about it. We've got to look at things
that way now in order to be happy."
Then we drove back to the studio.
And after I left him I couldn't help
wondering — is this what it's like, being a
young man in the world today?
Sculptress Hedi
Hollander tells
Claudette Col-
bert (time-out-
ting from "Arise
My Love") how
she chose her
profession. Seems
her song-writing
hubby was driv-
I ing her mad with
his piano pound-
ing, so she retired
to a studio be-
hind their house,
began sculpting
and founded a
million-dollar
business.
AT 5 AND 10* -DRUG AND
DEPARTMENT STORES
78
MODERN SCREEN
A DAY TO REMEMBER
(Continued from page 43)
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fFASCINATING entertainment^
black. From the cellar came a spooky
cry; from the attic a sinister howl. An-
other family might have fainted, but the
twins have conditioned the Johnsons to
drama and the unexpected.
"It must be one of their games," said
Mrs. Johnson placidly. And that's just
what it was. Laraine, Lamar and their
friends had resurrected one of their
childhood favorites — "Sardines." First
they had blacked out the house. Then
one member of the clan had dashed away
to hide. The rest of the group were hot
on the trail, yelling and screaming
through the dark. As, one by one, they
discovered the hiding place — in this in-
stance a linen closet — they hid there,
too, until the last lone wanderer found
them all together, packed tight as sar-
dines on top of the Johnsons' clean
sheets and towels. Mrs. Johnson is a
philosopher about things like laundry
and sudden guests, dancing in the living
room and the interminable blare of the
radio. She thinks it's all very jolly.
ANYBODY would think these assorted
- activities would keep even La-
raine panting, but there is more to the
story. Laraine writes poetry. How or
when is a mystery we shan't try to
solve. We can only report that she
does, and that the poetry is quite good
at that. She has had a number of pieces
accepted by literary magazines, and on
the work table in her large, sunny bed-
room you can always find a couple of
lyrics simmering gently, waiting for re-
vision and a last fond polishing. Laraine
writes musical comedies, too, and sev-
eral of these have been produced by the
Wilshire Playhouse group. She's pretty
glib about her favorite authors, Ogden
Nash, Jules Verne, Knut Hamsen, so we
wouldn't be surprised if she even races
through a book now and then. She ad-
mits, however, that she never gets a
chance to shop. She loves clothes, but
somehow can't find time to collect them.
If she sees a pretty dress in a window,
she'll dash in and buy it. Later, of course,
she discovers that she hasn't a hat, coat
or pair of shoes to wear with it. By
the time she has assembled the right
accessories, the dress looks like a relic
of yesteryear. Consequently, she sticks
mostly to slacks and shorts, spruces up
only for big evenings.
So now you see how it is. When you
have so many interests, so many things
to do, when you have come so far in
nineteen short years, when you plan to
go so much farther in the years just
ahead, you can't mark time. You can't
stall. You can't proceed in low gear.
No, sir! You hit the pike at eighty plus.
You burn up the road, but you get there
safe and sound with no accidents, and
with even the law rooting for you. You
do if you are Laraine Day, the cyclone
on sixteen cylinders!
INFORMATION DESK
MODERN SCREEN
149 Madison Ave.. New York, N. Y.
Please send me your newly revised chart listing
the heights, ages, birthdays and marriages, etc., of
all the important stars. I enclose 5c (stamps or
coin) to cover cost of mailing.
Name
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DECEMBER, 1940 79
HOLLYWOOD GANGS UP ON BRENDA MARSHALL
(Continued from page 38)
Later, during the course of the picture
Brenda felt like expiring on the spot after
one of her love scenes with Flynn. Flynn
didn't help matters at all and definitely
proved himself no gentleman and a
scoundrel of the first order by ribbing
her about what happened.
She had ordered one of the specials
in the Green Room for luncheon, a dish
of particular delegability. Not until she
went into the first afternoon close-up
with Flynn did she know there had been
a liberal amount of disguised garlic in the
dish. Flynn promptly and elaborately
swooned, nor would he allow her to for-
get her innocent faux pas for one minute
during the entire afternoon.
When she talked with her first Holly-
wood writer, Brenda learned that a
magazine interview wasn't as simple as
she'd thought.
'The interviewer insisted upon delving
into her past life, asking intimate ques-
tions which caused Brenda to fairly curl
and shrivel. How was she to know that
the writer meant nothing personal? To
him, the questions were altogether natu-
ral and normal. He simply was trying
to ferret out facts which would make an
interesting story. Inasmuch as she had
always tried to keep her affairs to her-
self, Brenda found exploration into those
affairs a matter of deep concern.
For this very reason, the penalty of
fame struck her amidships when a Hol-
lywood columnist printed the news that
Brenda and William Holden would
marry within ten months. At that date,
Brenda's divorce from Richard Houston
Gaines, stage actor, would become final
and she would be in a position to marry
again.
Brenda was frightfully embarrassed
by the episode, for she and young
Holden weren't even engaged, much less
planning any date for a wedding.
Granted they went around together and
Hollywood thought they were in love;
no formal announcement had been made
of any such betrothal. Brenda is a
young woman of breeding and refine-
ment, and she believed it particularly
bad taste on the part of the columnist.
Had Brenda known beforehand what
lay in store for her in Hollywood, she
might have hesitated before deserting
the stage, at least until she had acquired
more poise and experience.
PAINFULLY shy, she didn't know how
to meet the situations into which
she was almost immediately plunged.
Valiant attempts at sophistication in the
Hollywood manner even now haven't
radically changed this young actress who
was reared in the solitude of a tropical
sugar-cane plantation.
Born of Danish parentage on the island
of Negros in the southern Philippine
group, her childhood was passed far
from the progressive tide of civilization.
Brenda lived in the realm of her father's
rather extensive library, and dreams
didn't give way to reality until she was
sent to an aunt's in San Antonio, Texas,
for her education.
Interest in dramatics commenced with
her enrollment at Texas State College,
where she acted in class plays and
proved herself an adept performer. She
became so engrossed in the idea of a
theatrical career that after two years at
Texas State — which, by the way, Ann
Sheridan also attended — she left to join
Madame Maria Ouspenskaya's Dramatic
College, then located in New York City.
Following her training there, Brenda
became a member of a "straw hat" sum-
mer stock in Peterborough, N. H., and
finally appeared in the Federal Theatre
Project's production of George Bernard
Shaw's "On the Rocks," which played
Broadway for a very nice run. It was in
this play that Hollywood talent scouts
saw her and recommended her to their
respective companies. Warner Brothers
chanced to see one of these tests rejected
by another studio and wired the young-
ster, "Take next westbound plane ar-
riving here tomorrow."
When she arrived, Brenda resembled
nothing quite so much as a luminous -
eyed Spanish sefiorita. There's a cer-
tain deep, smouldering fire about her
that, despite her Scandinavian ancestry,
gives her an unmistakable , Latin look.
Hold your breath girls! Ida Lupino's
waist is 2 1 1/4 in. — Filmland's tiniest!
That is one reason why she filled the
role of Dona Maria in "The Sea Hawk"
so perfectly.
Hollywood scared the living daylights
out of Brenda. It was so vastly different
from anything she had ever encoun-
tered. Everyone seemed so utterly self-
sufficient, so certain of himself. She
found it difficult to accustom herself to
flattery, to the delving into her personal
life, to pushing herself forward when
she would have preferred to remain in
the background. What Brenda needed
was a big dose of egomania, particularly
to bridge over those embarrassing inter-
ludes she seemed ever to be drawn into.
After making four pictures, however,
she was just beginning to feel a little
bit more important, when she had an-
other deflating experience. Holden had
told her that Barbara Stanwyck wanted
to meet her, but the opportunity had
never presented itself. Therefore, when
Barbara came on the Warner Brothers
lot to work in Frank Capra's "Meet John
Doe," Brenda decided that the time for
the meeting had come. Accordingly, she
went to pay her a call.
She did not, however, reckon with the
gateman! Capra sets are always closed,
visitors being admitted only with special
permission. The gateman wasn't at all
impressed with the fact that she was
Brenda Marshall and under contract to
the studio. She had no business on the
set, so she wasn't going to pass. That
year in the studio didn't signify a thing
to the gate custodian and she had to
leave without even a peek at Barbara!
NOT long ago she appeared on Bing
Crosby's radio program. Memory
of that broadcast lingers still, and not
pleasantly, either.
An hour or so before the broadcast
she fell and injured her back, but be-
lieved she could go through with the
scheduled appearance. She stood with
Bing and several others before one of
the microphones on the stage.
Suddenly, while awaiting her lines,
the top page of her script fluttered out
of her hands. When she went to stoop
for it, however, she discovered to her
alarm she couldn't even bend! With her
cue less than a minute away, she grew
desperate. No one seemed aware of the
fact that she had dropped her script, and
there she was, unable to do anything
about it. Finally she did get down on
the floor crawfish-fashion to pick up
the fallen page. It was one of her worst
moments, for no one could know her
awkwardness was caused by her fall;
torn sacroiliac muscles had made her
practically helpless.
Transcending by far all these adven-
tures in embarrassment, however, be-
cause it served as a deep and searing
blow, was an incident which occurred
her first day on a movie set, the day she
started "Espionage Agent."
During the morning Brenda had ap-
peared in several scenes; then lunch
was called. When she returned to the
set, she received a terrific shock!
There before the camera, in clothes
exactly like hers, stood another girl-^
and she was acting out the scene Brenda
knew she was supposed to enact directly
after lunch!
Brenda didn't know what to do, what
to say. She felt like sinking through
the floor; apparently, she had failed in
her baptism-by-fire before the camera,
and another actress had to be called in
to replace her.
No one said anything; no one uttered
words of sympathy or commiseration.
For this, at least, she was grateful. It
was as though the world had come to
an end, and she felt frightfully ashamed.
She needn't have been, poor child!
For that girl in clothes exactly like
hers was her stand-in, going through her
paces for the benefit of a camera set-up!
Every young actress experiences cer-
tain embarrassing moments in the reali-
zation of stardom, but few can duplicate
those Brenda Marshall endured on her
way up. She believes firmly, though,
and perhaps rightfully, they contributed
to her poise and presence. Certainly,
she is one of the most composed young
women on the screen today.
80
MODERN SCREEN
KNEE HIGH TO AN OSCAR
(Continued from page 6)
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at Universal Studios. Gloria is twice as
pretty in person as the camera allows.
Symbolically enough, she was dolled up
in an old dress of Deanna's, a blue
taffeta affair, much too long for Gloria,
but that didn't matter. Gloria was in
the portrait gallery for a sitting of head
close-ups. While she waited for the lights
to be set, she passed the time ripping
open a stack of fan letters. Every now
and then Gloria giggled. Finally she
shoved one letter at me and smiled.
When Gloria Jean smiles her dark blue
eyes draw up in little violet slots and
her eyelashes look like zippers. Her
round, pink-and-white face topped by a
neat mop of naturally wavy titian tresses
smiles right along with her generous
mouth. It was hard to concentrate — but
I made it.
"Dear Gloria," said the letter. "I am
only thirteen and I know I am too young
for love but I can't help it, you are the
prettiest girl in the world. Will you
marry me? Donald."
She's a siren, this twelve-year-old!
Why, some months ago Bing Crosby
brought his kids on the set one day to
watch pappy work. The next morning,
bright and early, Gary, the eldest off-
spring, stalked into Bing's bedroom and
woke him out of a sound sleep.
"Well, Dad," stated Gary, "it's hap-
pened!"
"What's happened?" inquired Bing,
wide awake and wondering what epic
event had arrived in the life of his son
and heir.
"Judy Garland's out," declared Gary.
"I've got a new girl — Gloria Jean."
Mesmerized young males by the thou-
sands may moon over Gloria Jean, but
right now Gloria isn't doing any moon-
ing back. She's too busy savoring the
wonders of Hollywood. And with all the
real flesh and blood screen gods stalking
around her sets (and being a terrific
movie fan) Gloria is having a few
crushes herself.
Dangling from the charm bracelet on
her wrist is a gold medallion embossed
with the classic profile of Basil Rath-
bone. Gloria raved about Basil so much
when she made the picture with Bing
that The Groaner had the little gold
gadget made for a parting gift. Gloria
was faithful to Basil for a long time, even
after her Charles Boyer affair, but re-
cently the autographed picture which
hung over her bed was given away to
Brian Aherne's romantic face, also lov-
ingly autographed. What's more, Gloria
has a big box of candy from Brian to
prove his devotion, whether Joan Fon-
taine likes it or not. John Sutton, a
handsome young Universal newcomer,
is now looming large in Gloria's day-
dreams, as are Spencer Tracy and Errol
Flynn, and it's to be expected that al-
most every dashing movie hero who visits
Universal to make a picture will have
his brief but blazing day in Gloria's
worship.
To Gloria all this is a fantastic, won-
derful dream come true — a dream that
began quite a while ago back in Buffalo,
N. Y., where she was born.
When Gloria was too young to dream
about Hollywood, her pretty, energetic
mother did it for her. For if you ask
Eleanor Schoonover, she will swear she
knew Gloria Jean had a rare voice when
she was only fifteen months old. The
record reveals that at that age Gloria ac-
tually showed up on a Scranton radio
program, and at five she made her debut
in a big Scranton theatre officially classi-
fied as a coloratura soprano!
From then on about all Gloria Jean
did, outside of wolf her oatmeal and
learn her ABC's, was to burst into song
at the slightest provocation. Gloria Jean
was pretty famous locally by the time
Paul Whiteman came through on tour
with his band and, after one audition,
offered her a contract.
BY that time there wasn't much doubt
that Gloria was destined for a
singing career, but Mama Schoonover
and Gloria's Uncle Jack, a voice expert
who really discovered Gloria's profes-
sional pipes, were set on grand opera. It
took a lot of moxie to say "no" to Paul
Whiteman, creator of stars, but they did,
and lucky for Gloria, too. Because right
after that she had her tonsils out, and
complications set in that had her lying
around a hospital for almost a year.
Everyone thought she'd lose her pretty
voice for sure — but when she got well,
her singing was better than ever! Then
Gloria's mother knew there was only one
thing to do — get Gloria to New York
where the big breaks were.
They started out broke and had abso-
lutely no trouble staying that way, for
there wasn't enough money in the
Schoonover family to maintain two
homes. Gloria finally got a job with a
little one-horse New York opera com-
pany but, when they worked her too
hard and threatened to ruin her voice,
Mama S. didn't hesitate to pound the
pavements again. Just when it looked
like back to Scranton for keeps, the good
Hollywood fairy waved her wand with a
swell sense of timing.
Whether they wished upon a star or
what, I couldn't say — but all of a sud-
den things certainly began happening.
Larry Waterman, assistant to the presi-
dent of Universal, was in New York and
saw Gloria at a try out. He liked her!
The next day Larry told Joe Pasternak,
who was in the East on a pleasure trip,
that he'd seen another Deanna Durbin.
Pasternak clapped his brow. The last
thing in the world he wanted to see or
even hear about was another Deanna
Durbin. Everybody he talked to had one.
He wasn't interested in interviewing
young hopefuls and mama's darlings —
not this trip. He was on vacation and he
meant to stay that way. No mix-ups
with moppets!
But there's a funny thing about Holly-
wood producers. When they think they
are on vacation, they're often spinning
their brains around a mile a minute over
some future epic. Joe had bought an
I.A.R. Wylie magazine story called "The
Underpup," but he didn't have a typical
American kid to play in it. Consequently,
it was a cinch for Larry Waterman to
break him down to an interview with
Gloria Jean.
She didn't even have to sing for Joe.
She just played a couple of her records
and turned on her smile. It was a ticket
to Hollywood!
Long before this, Gloria had started
making scrapbooks of her particular
movie favorites and dreaming about
Hollywood as some sort of Seventh
Heaven. She'd always pictured it as a
lush, tropical place, where cocoanuts
rolled around in the streets, green palm
trees swayed and glamorous stars pat-
tered around in a paradise of luxury.
Well, it was sort of a shock to find
Movieland just another big city full of
noises, hard-working people, lots of
traffic and practically no cocoanuts. Un-
daunted, Gloria Jean made up her mind
to concentrate on the movie studios and
their glamorous stars, and so far they
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haven't let her down even a little bit.
Universal hasn't kept her too busy, for
Joe Pasternak believes in bringing kids
along slowly. She's had lots of time for
running around collecting autographs,
gasping, goggling and meeting mobs of
dream men and women who are still
eighth wonders of the world to her. By
now the scrap books have reached moun-
tainous proportions, and the autograph
collections and screenland souvenirs have
forced the Schoonovers into larger living
quarters. When she returned to Scran-
ton last year, reporters queried her about
the thrills of Hollywood and Gloria re-
plied that among the greatest was meet-
ing people like Nan Grey, C. Aubrey
Smith, El Brendel, etc., all of whom sup-
port Gloria in her own starring pictures.
After almost two years, studio sets still
lure her like enchanted palaces. Mrs.
Schoonover has given up trying to keep
Gloria at home between pictures.
Whether she's working or not, she man-
ages to duck over to Universal daily, and
one of her favorite between-picture pas-
times is taking her sister, Lois, (Gloria's
stand-in) and her baby sister, Bonnie,
out to the abandoned sets on the back
lot and putting on "plays." The other
day a Universal picture company, setting
up for some outdoor shots among the
gaunt ruins of the ancient "Hunchback
of Notre Dame" sets, was surprised to
hear a voice crying "Heathcliffe! Heath-
cliff e!" They rushed inside and found
Gloria Jean, Lois and Bonnie deep in a
dramatic scene obviously filched from
"Wuthering Heights!"
Going to the movies, by the way, is
Gloria's never-ending delight. If, in the
evening, the answer is a firm family
"no," Gloria can sometimes be content
to stay at home and dress up like her
favorite screen sirens, Marlene Dietrich,
Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, before
the long mirror in her bedroom. But
she'd a lot rather coax her way to the
neighborhood theatre. Gloria's taste in
movies at this point runs mainly to out-
door slam-bang pictures like "When the
Daltons Rode" and "The Sea Hawk."
She's also wild about horror films. The
other day Gloria Jean trotted over to
rehearse for an appearance at the Los
Angeles Policemen's Ball. They put her
up on an impromptu platform that car-
penters were hammering together. To
Gloria it suggested a scaffold. "Oh," she
cried happily, "just like a hanging!"
Outside of this slight Jane Witherish
touch, Gloria Jean is as nice and normal
a young lady as you'd care to know.
She collects dolls, helps her mother with
the dishes, makes her own bed, cooks
Baby Bonnie's breakfast and can whip
up very yummy peanut cookies, accord-
ing to family testimonials.
On the athletic side, she pedals a bike
and bumps around occasionally on a
horse chased by her fox terrier, "Pat," a
gift of Director Dave Butler. In a swim-
ming pool Gloria's a regular fish, and
she can take care of herself very well
in the neighborhood running, jumping
and ball-playing kid games. For that
matter, Gloria Jean can take care of
herself under most circumstances.
She was up for a radio program with
Edgar Bergen a while back. Bergen took
Gloria to lunch after the deal was set
to get to know her, so he could write up
a clever script. One of the most amusing
gents in Hollywood, Edgar's a great lad-
der and he was bantering Gloria all
around the table. Finally he happened
on the favorite subject of his hair. Ber-
gen hasn't any, of course, and though he
kids about it, he's really sensitive. "How
do you like my long curly locks, Gloria?"
he inquired facetiously.
"I like it the way it is in the movies,"
came back Gloria. That's when Bergen
wears a toupe!
Gloria's weaknesses are ice cream,
which she tries to have at every meal,
five-and-ten cent stores, trains, frilly
frocks and a player piano which she pre-
tends to play herself but really can't.
Since she's been made a star, her little
thirteen-year-old boy friend next door
is having a terrible time getting any at-
tention. Gloria used to join him in
marbles and BB gun shooting in her "off"
hours. Now she just climbs up into a
tree with a pillow and dreams.
Mostly the dreams are about Messrs.
Boyer, Rathbone, Aherne, Sutton, Flynn
and company. But sometimes Gloria has
nightmares, too. The other day she
rushed into the house looking like a
ghost. She'd dreamed that she was leav-
ing Hollywood!
"Oh, Mother," sobbed Gloria, "if I had
to do that I think I'd rather die."
But there's not much chance of Gloria
Jean leaving her Hollywood Wonder-
land for a long time to come.
Wouldn't you love to live in Studio City? Smiley Burnette's the new mayor!
That's screen-pal Gene Autry (right) admiring his impressive seal of office.
82
MODERN SCREEN
AVOID H*H* houshands/ 1
LOVE AND LANA
(Continued from page 31)
sharp and quick. He hates previews and
premieres. His two loves are Shaw and
music, but Shaw's his favorite of the
two.
Now Lana: Because she is publicized
by her studio as a glamour girl, people
immediately assume that she is a sophis-
ticate. If wanting to have a good time
denotes sophistication, we suppose, then,
that Lana is a sophisticate. But the pub-
lic doesn't seem to realize that the only
difference between youngsters in Holly-
wood and those in other parts of the
country is that the latter don't get hyped-
up publicity, and their lives are not bared
in daily print. The public, too, cannot
seem to realize that a nineteen-year-old
Hollywood girl can have perfectly normal
desires, normal intelligence and a normal
education. (As a matter of fact, Lana's
formal education stopped when she was
sixteen, at which point she entered pic-
tures.)
She is just as naive in her way as the
cute college sophomore next door and,
despite the suddenness of her ill-fated
elopement, she faced the future with
wide-eyed openness and determination
to make a go of it.
That February night this year when
Artie and Lana dated for the first time,
the two drove to the beach. The details
of the drive have never been fully bared,
other than that it wound up in an air
jaunt to Las Vegas. But Shaw's friends
will tell you of the wonderful line he
casts. That night he was evidently in
rare form. He gave forth first with the
"I'm sick of it all" routine. This was
followed by the "futility of it all" barrage,
then "the chaos of the world," "the desire
for the tranquillity of a home and family."
AS Artie kept spouting, Lana kept
■ lapping it up. To a romantic young-
ster who — believe it or not— didn't
know her own drawing power in the
world of men, marriage and children as
outlined by Shaw sounded intriguing.
When finally he suggested marriage, and
she agreed, Shaw almost collapsed! At
the airport he was stunned by her con-
tinued willingness to become his wife.
He could hardly believe it even when she
told the justice of the peace that she ac-
cepted him as her lawfully-wedded hus-
band. If the public was surprised at the
newspaper headlines, you can be sure
that those same headlines were a double
jolt to Shaw!
The subsequent newspaper publicity
was terrific! The morning following the
Solution to Puzzle on Page 14
marriage, the Hollywood Reporter, carry-
ing the "angle" follow-up, said:
"Speculation on why Lana Turner
suddenly upped and did it is still the
topic of the day — but that's Holly-
wood as the whole stunt goes to
show. Dailies missed the gun com-
pletely on the inside yarn. Monday
was Lana's mother's birthday, which
they celebrated at dinner alone, after
which she joined Artie Shaw, too late
to catch the opening of "The Man
Who Came To Dinner," which is why
seats "Left Center K 1 and 3" were
empty. Lana and Shaw then went
for a drive, it being their first date
since his return, and along about
three ayem, after he'd given her a
spiel about a home and family, they
decided to be married immediately.
On returning to town yesterday, they
sought refuge from reporters, studio
press agents and photogs at Bellows
and Company, (wine merchants on
Wilshire Boulevard) where Edgar
Selwyn's nephew, Billy, is an asso-
ciate. Billy hid them in the "tasting
room," called Billy Seymour and got
'em a wedding ring, and the four then
had a champagne breakfast. Then,
to duck reporters, the couple sneaked
off to Edgar Selwyn's home, where
they slept until six yesterday eve-
ning."
FROM there Lana went to Artie's
Benedict Canyon home and an entirely
new life. No matter what anyone says,
when Lana entered that house for the
first time, she was in love with Shaw.
Once inside the mansion, she came face
to face with a stranger, and she directed
all her efforts toward understanding and
pleasing him. She learned how to run
his home smoothly. She did the things
a maid would more properly have been
called upon to do, and did them cheer-
fully and whole-heartedly.
She soon became aware of the fact,
however, that Shaw did not live up to
their romantic elopement. Here was a
man of temperament and moods such as
she'd never known. Because she loved
him, she did her very best to unravel the
mystery that kept enveloping her. She
tried to conform to his way of life, al-
though it meant changing completely
from her previous self.
Shaw hated night clubs. He hated
dancing. He disliked crowds. His great-
est amusement consisted of having his
musician friends to his home, where
they'd talk about subjects completely
foreign to Lana. She pretended an in-
terest, but in her unfamiliarity with
"their world" she was continually embar-
rassed by Shaw, who tossed her "igno-
rance" in her face whether friends were
present or not. He also taunted her for
her comparative lack of education. In
trying to "lift" her intellectually, he
tossed education at her in bulk, giving
her books to read that would have been
a strain on college professors. These
heavy psychological abuses did much to
bring about the breakdown which sent
her to the Santa Monica hospital with
nervous exhaustion. It is said, however,
that during her hospital siege, she was
permitted to read some of the more
popular magazines.
On their infrequent trips to night clubs,
he'd never ask her to dance. Here was a
girl longing for a whirl, and he'd sit tight
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hour after hour in conversation with
friends. All evening long Lana would
peer enviously toward the dance floor
where her old friends were having a
whale of a time. Shaw never allowed her
to attend her own previews or give any
autographs. Deep in her heart, Lana
liked Clyde McCoy's music. That, to
Shaw, was sacrilege! When she asked to
go to Lombardo's opening at the Grove —
wow!
When they were home alone in the
evening, Artie would bury himself in a
book. She, returning from a hard day's
work at the studio and longing for com-
panionship, would run into a stone wall
of morose silence, when for hours on end
Shaw would offer punctual yawns as
fragments of conversation.
He was jealous of any attentions show-
ered on her. Even Lana's personal maid
drew his wrath because she paid more
attention to Lana than she did to him.
When his manservant began to follow
suit, Shaw was furious!
He cut off all her friends with the re-
sult that it was all Lana could do to eke
out a jovial "hello" as she passed her
former companions on the street and in
restaurants. Shaw's friends, on the other
hand, were all-important. He'd bring
them to his home for jam-sessions and
gabfests that would last until early morn-
ing. Lana was expected to sit around at
Artie's beck and call, despite six A. M.
studio calls. He'd order her around as
one would a servant. "Turn on the radio,"
"mix a couple of drinks for the boys,"
and so on and on — and all these things
she'd do. Half the time she didn't know
what they were talking about, the other
half she was too tired to care. To Shaw
and his friends, four bars of Bobby
Hackett meant more than Hitler walking
into Paris. There's no telling what eight
bars meant.
Although Lana admired his talents,
Shaw would rarely offer to play his
clarinet for her. He felt she couldn't
appreciate it or didn't have the proper
capacity to understand it, as did his
friends.
When she still had a week of retakes
to do on "Two Girls On Broadway," Shaw
suddenly decided they ought to go to
New York and to hell with the retakes.
The studio had an awful time with him
but finally won out. He did take her to
New York later to show her to his bud-
dies there.
He wanted her to break her film con-
tract to go on a personal appearance tour
with him. Fortunately, her advisers
jumped in and nixed that idea promptly.
During their marriage, Lana's mother,
who'd always been closest to her, saw
little of her daughter. Shaw didn't make
his home inviting to a mother-in-law and,
with a mother's understanding, Mrs. Tur-
ner made no effort to dissuade Lana from
her decision to keep on and make a go
of the ill-fated marriage. Mothers can
take a lesson from Mrs. Turner. She felt
the couple's problems could best be
worked out by themselves, and she never
interfered. Lana would see her privately
away from Artie's home, but pride pre-
vented the girl from admitting even to
her mother what was going on.
It was during these infrequent meetings
with her mother — when the kid was
choked with all these pent-up emotions
— that Lana would leave her with, "Don't
forget, Mummy, I love you very much,
no matter what happens."
Lana shared her misery and troubles
with no one and, as one hurt after an-
other continued to pile up, she finally
upped and left him. There was no scene.
She simply told him she was going, and
she went!
The fact that she left him, that the mar-
riage was over, didn't mean a thing to
Shaw. His friends will tell you that he
carries no torch, is not in the least per-
turbed about anything that occurred. At
press time, he was running around town
with a new girl, Frances Neal, who was
formerly Artie's friend's girl.
The studio shipped Lana off to Hono-
lulu immediately after the break to for-
get. The trip helped assuage the pain a
little, but she's still hurt.
When Lana returned from Honolulu,
she was kept under close surveillance by
her studio and agent. The latter saw
to it that she went on no dates but those
he approved of at the time.
But it's open season for dates with Lana
Turner now. At this writing, she's hit-
ting the town with Vic Mature and
enjoying it. The studio is happy about
her revived energy. They're not worried
about her being burned again.
Pals from way back in New York, Franchot Tone and Sylvia Sidney reminisce on
one of their weekly dates during Sylvia's temporary stay in Hollywood.
84
MODERN SCREEN
INFORMATION DESK
(Continued from page 8)
"four hundred" actually are. Myrna Loy
is 35; Fred MacMurray, 32; Don Ameche,
30; Priscilla Lane, 23; sister Rosemary,
24; Brenda Joyce, 24; Olivia de Havil-
land, 24; Joan Crawford, 32; Barbara
Stanwyck, 33; and Loretta Young, 27.
We couldn't find any star who's birth-
day coincides exactly with yours (Octo-
ber 30 must have been reserved especially
for you), but Fanny Brice and Douglass
Montgomery come under the same as-
trological sign. Both were born on
October 29.
Blanche Townsley. El Paso, Texas. Frances
Dee is one of the few stars who was
born right in the shadow of the cinema
factories. Los Angeles is her home town
and she'll be 33 on November 26. When
she was seven, the family moved to
Chicago where she was educated right
through to a B. A. at the University of
Chicago. While spending a summer va-
cation in Hollywood, she became so
interested in "extra" work that she
stayed on and eventually landed the
lead opposite Maurice Chevalier in
"Playboy of Paris." Frances is taking
time out from looking after hubby Joel
McCrea and their two lively children to
make one of her rare pictures — United
Artists' "Flotsam."
Charles Clark, Superior, Wis. The rumor
that a little blonde usurper will take
Shirley Temple's place on the Twentieth
Century-Fox lot is just one of those
whisperings. Joe Pasternak, Deanna
Durbin's fairy godfather, will probably
produce Shirley's next picture. Yes, it's
true that Sonja Henie's contract with
Twentieth Century-Fox is up.
Jeanette Syvertsen, Chicago, 111. Louis
Hayward's career has been an unusual
one right from that nineteenth of March
in 1909 when he was born in Johannes-
burg, South Africa, the son of a gold
mining engineer. After a sound educa-
tion in French and English schools, Louis
turned down a position in his uncle's
London brokerage to enroll in an English
dramatic academy. In order to obtain
actual stage experience, Louis bought an
interest in an impoverished little stock
company which withstood the rigors of
financial malnutrition just long enough
for the young man to get his chance.
Talent scouts saw his excellent per-
formance in the Lunt's "Point Valaine" —
and that's the story of how Louis Hay-
ward came to Hollywood.
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CONFIDENTIALLY YODRS
(Continued from page 35)
sitting in a chair. She's either flat on
the floor on her tummy or in bed. She
always studies her scripts in bed. She
likes popular novels, but plans this year
to have her teacher make her a list of
the classics she should read — and she'll
read 'em! She doesn't like murder mys-
teries, as she's afraid they'll give her
nightmares. She's beginning to collect
books. "I want to have my own library,"
she declares, "with my own book-plate
in every book so that I'll be known as
'well-read' and as 'Linda Darnell, Bib-
liophile.' " Being one of those people
who have to have their sleep, and plenty
of it, Linda always goes to bed at ten
o'clock (except when she has dates and
then she has to be home by twelve).
"And how I love to sleep, just love it!"
something it has never done before and
(mark this well, girls) will probably
never do again. It bought her $3000
worth of clothes! For free! Which
serves to indicate what they think of
Linda!
Collecting records is her other hobby.
She indulges in what she calls "record
binges" and often goes to Bob Shaw's
house (Bob has an enormous library of
records) for an evening of "discing."
When she first came to Hollywood, her
salary was said to be $150 a week. The
latest report is that it's been raised to
$450. When she made her trip to New
York less than a year ago, the studio did
She drives a modest little car, a Pon-
tiac Six, and lives in a $50 a month,
rented house. According to Linda, there's
no foreign car, no caviar, no champagne,
no swimming pool and no projection
machines in her life just yet. She would,
she says, "rather build up to that
gradually." She believes, "The way things
are at home helps to keep my feet on the
ground. Coming home to a little house
in a not-too-elegant neighborhood is
just what I need." Linda has her own
room, furnished in blonde wood, with
soft blue for drapes. She likes "a
sleepy-colored room" to sleep in. The
children, Calvin Jr., and Monte, aged
about eleven and twelve, have another
of the bedrooms, and Mrs. Darnell has
the third. They keep no servant but a
Japanese woman who comes in three
days a week to do the laundry and
cleaning. Linda's mother gets the din-
ner every night and the children help
with the dishes. Linda loathes servants.
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Linda loves to drive; she just gets in
her car and whips off to the beach or into
the hills all by herself. She always drives
for a while after work, because it re-
laxes her completely.
She has no use for anyone who "puts
on an act" and believes that naturalness
is the most important quality a girl can
have if she's hoping for a break in pic-
tures. "Because," she reasons wisely,
"they're always looking for new people
and new faces, not copies of old ones.
And so I think it's a great mistake to
try to act like Alice Faye or Norma
Shearer or anyone but your own self."
She has had crushes, has thought she
was in love, but Linda knows she never
has been, really. She's heard the "you're
too young, you don't know what you're
talking about" line so often that now
she believes it. She takes advice.
Naively, but very earnestly, she'll tell
you, "Mother knows best. Why shouldn't
I do as she says?"
The nicest compliment she ever had,
in her opinion, was paid her when she
was making her trip to New York. An
old gentleman on the train told her, "You
are the most wholesome young girl I have
ever seen." It was the word "wholesome"
that pleased her. Linda dislikes cheap
words, words used often and carelessly.
She prefers praise from older people "be-
cause then it's so real."
Linda speaks wistfully of a pre-Holly-
wood romance, the lad in question being
a Spanish refugee from Barcelona whom
she hasn't seen for several months. She
believes he may be in Mexico but she is
"still carrying the torch for him." He is
"the sweetest boy I know and he comes
closest to the 'real thing' in my life."
Mrs. Darnell insists that Linda has no
idea how beautiful she is. "I'll tell her
something nice someone has said about
her looks, and she'll answer, 'Oh, Mama,
don't believe all that stuff you hear.' "
She had a crush on Don Ameche and
on Tyrone Power before she came to
Hollywood. She "fell in love" with Don
Ameche when she heard him in the
"First Nighter" broadcasts. When she
saw him on the screen, "I was so excited
I nearly died!" Part of this fairy tale
of being in Hollywood is that she hap-
pened to get into the very same studio
with Don and Tyrone!
Of an economical disposition, Linda
doesn't have to be given a stated allow-
ance. Part of her money goes into a
trust fund, some into a savings account
and the balance into a checking account.
She is equally frugal with her temper.
She saves it and saves it, goes along
calmly for months and then, for some
trivial reason, she "blows all to pieces."
She likes to surprise people with gifts.
Never gives them on the usually pre-
scribed occasions but just when the spirit
moves her. She always sits with her
hands loosely linked, either in her lap
or on a table. She looks you squarely in
the eye when she speaks.
Her mother makes her go out with the
same four boys all the time, Louis Blau,
a young attorney, Alan Gordon, Frank
Swann and Bob Shaw. Lots of "play-
boys" call her up, her mother says, "but
they don't get past me!" Mrs. Darnell's
formula for Linda's dates is that they
must be "nice, young men" and she does
a thorough character-analysis before
Linda may have any dates with them.
Even with the four who have been
"passed by the Board of Censors," Mrs.
Darnell makes her rotate her dates so
that by the time she goes out with the
first boy again, there has been such a
lapse that the columnists can't attach
any romance to her. Linda often turns
down a date for Saturday afternoon or
Sunday in order to take the kids to the
beach.
Her favorite color is red, not a brilliant
red, but an exotic, sub-shade red. She
always turns to the "funnies" first when
she reads the papers. She doesn't smoke
and never takes a cocktail. She doesn't
admire sophistication "until a girl is
thirty-ish," so doesn't try to acquire it.
Among "a million pet hates" which she
claims to have, the "hatingest" is pictures
that hang slightly askew on the wall.
"I'll never marry an actor!" is young
Linda's slogan. Her mother insists it is
one she'll never go back on. When she
reads of a divorce among movie people
she always says, "One of those Holly-
wood marriages— nothing like that for
me!" A good, steady husband is what she
wants, with a home founded on rock,
not on glamour and headlines. There
will be children, lots of them, and emo-
tional as well as financial security. She
hates men who "leer" and "ogle" and
thinks women who "flirt shamelessly"
are just as bad. All of "that kind of cheap
fun," she says, "is making light of some-
thing sacred."
Like any normal girl, she is "simply
mad about clothes" and, when she sees
something she likes in a shop window,
she "just has fits" until she gets it. Once
a year she conducts a general house-
cleaning in her own room, accompanied
by a perfect orgy of straightening out
closets and bureau drawers. At this time
she sternly admonishes her mother to
be sure that all her gloves are kept in
this compartment, all her scarfs in that
one, et cetera. By nightfall, laughs Mrs.
Darnell, the usual wild disorder again
prevails! Incredibly enough, Linda is
fanatically and spotlessly neat in her
dress. Her mother says she sends things
to the dry cleaners "that aren't even out
of breath!"
When she does go out with her "nice,
young men," she likes especially to bowl,
to attend the theatre, and to go dancing
at Ciro's or at the Beverly-WUshire. She
has dates "for fun and to relax, but they
mean absolutely nothing more than that."
Her food preferences run to Spanish
and Italian dishes which her mother
cooks to perfection. Also barbecued
meats, cooked over hickory wood or in
a barbecue like the one which her father
made at home. Her dancing lessons as
a child, she feels, were the most valuable
preparation she made toward her career,
because "dancing gives you so much
poise." Although she studied ballet danc-
ing, she never wanted to be anything but
what she is. Single-minded in her pur-
pose, Linda never went off on tangents,
thinking she would be a trained nurse,
a buyer, an aviatrix, etc.
Making a person-to-person canvas of
various people who know Linda —
Tyrone Power, Pev Marley, Director
Walter Lang, Director Henry King, Henry
Fonda, John Carradine, Dean Jagger,
John Payne, Jane Darwell, Elsa Max-
well and Mary Astor — I asked them this
one question: "Confidentially, has Linda
Darnell any faults?" The answers, unani-
mous and monosyllabic, were, "None!"
86
MODERN SCREEN
MOVIE REVIEWS
(Continued from page 17)
unforgettable characterization of the
Judge.
As the film starts, Gary Cooper is being
led into a small, rough town in Texas
charged with stealing horses. He doesirt
get a chance to defend himself, and it
looks like curtains until he tricks the
Judge in a very amusing manner to gain
his freedom. Gary's about to leave town
when he bumps into Doris Davenport,
who tells him what a tough time decent
citizens are having in the vicinity because
of Brennan's nefarious activities. Yes,
you're right. He stays and cleans up the
mess.
Now all this is pretty routine, of course,
and you've seen it a dozen times, at least.
But what makes it outstanding and dif-
ferent is Brennan's portrayal of a can-
tankerous, cruel and eccentric gent with
real color.
He could have been just a mean old
buzzard, but then you would have had
just a cowboy picture. As played by
Brennan (and as written, of course) he
is a live human being, who vitalizes the
whole film and changes all the actors
from puppets to real persons.
Gary is still a honey of a performer in
his own right and, as usual, he makes
a terrific impression as the good badman,
but no matter how well he handled his
part it would still be another perfor-
mance of a familiar role.
There are a number of other good
bits of acting, for Fred Stone and
Doris Davenport (a delectable dish if
ever we saw one), are both outstanding
in supporting roles. Directed by William
Wyler. — Samuel Goldwyn-United Artists
Release.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Based on
historical fact, this film was originally
entitled "Vinegaroon" after the name of
the town in which the story is laid . . .
There actually was a Judge Roy Bean,
played here by Walter Brennan. In the
film, one of the big moments is when he
meets Lily Langtry, just before he dies;
actually, he died two years before the
Jersey Lily visited Vinegaroon . . . All
the outdoor scenes were made in Gold-
wyn City in a location community set up
near Tuscon, Arizona . . . During the
making of the film, Gary Cooper was laid
up with water on the knee, sustained in
a fall immediately after a fight scene
with Forrest Tucker . . . While the 250
members of the cast were at Goldwyn
City, "the daily rushes" were sent by
air mail to be passed on by Samuel
Goldwyn, who then gave his opinion to
Director Wyler by telephone . . . This
is the first important part handled by
Doris Davenport; some years ago she had
a very small bit in an Eddie Cantor musi-
cal, but couldn't get started in films. She
changed her name to Dorothy Jordan
and went to New York, where a talent
scout saw her and signed her again for
Goldwyn, the only stipulation being that
she change her name back to the orig-
inal . . . As a result of the interest in this
film, Texas has made a shrine to Judge
Roy Bean, consisting of his former bar
and court, which were two ends of the
same room.
No Time for Comedy
One of the strangest anomalies about
Hollywood is that no one out here has
ever discovered that just because a play
is good on Broadway it does not neces-
sarily follow that it will be good on the
screen. This is a case in point. It was a
successful play, and it's not a bad movie,
but you won't paste the program in your
scrapbook to look fondly at and reminisce
about in years to come.
Maybe the trouble is that every pos-
sible backstage formula has been used
up. In spite of the fact that this is from
Broadway and has a high-brow back-
ground, it is still, essentially, another
backstage story. And kind of corny.
Jimmy Stewart is a playwright and is
married to Rosalind Russell, who is an
actress and stars in all his comedies.
Everything is fine until Jimmy meets
Genevieve Tobin, who is a rich lady with
"ideas," and she convinces Jimmy that
he ought to try writing a play with
"meaning" and "importance." Yeah, he
does. It flops and he comes back to Roz
a wiser and saner playwright.
Roz and Jimmy are swell troupers, of
course, and they make an interesting ro-
mantic combination, but both of them
are miscast. Roz is a terrific comedienne,
but is forced to play a beautiful glamour
girl (albeit with brains) here. It's good,
but it's not our Roz. And Jimmy as the
egotistic, cocksure young playwright is
okay, but not our Jimmy.
And wait until a certain section of our
United States sees the way Louise Bea-
vers acts in the parlor! You can't do it,
pals, you just can't.
Isn't there anything really good, with-
out reservations, that we can say about
anyone in this picture? Sure. Allyn
Joslyn does a peach of a hunk of acting;
he deserves a break. Genevieve Tobin is
swell in a new kind of characterization
that ought to take her places. And
Charlie Ruggles — oh, dear, he's miscast,
too. Directed by William Keighley. —
Warner Brothers.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Jimmy and
Roz both had birthdays during the film-
ing of "No Time for Comedy," and gave
parties for each other on the set. Bette
Davis, close friend (!) of Rosalind's, sent
her a huge wreath, decorated with highly
spiced vegetables . . . Charlie Ruggles
collects pipes and has over 260, some
dating from the 16th century . . . Gene-
vieve Tobin collects lipsticks, has speci-
mens from 47 different countries . . . Roz
wears moccasins whenever she can on
stage; has over thirty pairs in a variety
of colors . . . Jimmy Stewart receives
hundreds of letters daily giving him ad-
vice on how to gain weight (as if he
wants to!) . . . Allyn Joslyn laughed so
loud during the filming of a humorous
scene he was ousted from the set.
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Joslyn collects funny hats, wears a dif-
ferent one to the studio every day.
★** Hired Wife
There's an old gag in Hollywood to the
effect that the story's the thing, but, if
nobody's looking, the truth is it's all a lot
of humbug. And this picture proves it.
It has one of the silliest stories you ever
heard tell. But it's an A-l movie, never-
theless.
"What is it about?" you ask. Well,
it seems that Rosalind — is there a better
comedienne in films? — is Brian Aherne's
secretary, and like all good secretaries
(especially in the movies) she's in love
with her boss. But like all bosses he's
blind as a bat and doesn't realize this.
He is in love with a blonde and beau-
tiful model who, like all models, is really
just a gold-digger. Now, Robert Bench-
ley is Aherne's lawyer (and a more im-
probable lawyer you never even
dreamed of) and John Carroll is a pleas-
ant gigolo that Roz uses to lure Brian's
blonde siren away from him. And every-
thing ends just too, too perfectly for
everybody, as it does in this kind of story.
. There's no way of describing the crazy
antics or humorous situations, so you'll
simply have to accept our simple state-
ment to that effect. It's a roar from start
to finish.
Miss Russell is in top form and so is
Benchley. Brian Aherne unbends a good
deal and is very pleasant in the light
comedy role. Virginia Bruce has never
looked more desirable and lovely, or
acted with more gusto. And this guy
John Carroll proves at long last that he
is no flash in the pan; he's going places,
important places — if he can only get a
few more juicy assignments like this one.
Directed by William Seiter. — Universal.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Two platina
fox furs, each valued at $1,500, were
flown from New York for Virginia Bruce
to wear in one scene . . . Roz Russell
wears a pair of pliable glass shoes, with
purse to match, as a costume novelty . . .
Miss Russell served cold drinks to every-
one on the set during a warm spell . . .
She brought a cake of ice into her dress-
ing-room and had an electric fan blow
across it . . . Both John Carroll and
Virginia Bruce took rhumba lessons
every day for a week for one of their
scenes . . . Robert Benchley, during the
filming of "Hired Wife," happened to
mention he was pretty good with a man-
dolin, back in his college days. Seiter
took him up on his boast, had a bit writ-
ten in which required Benchley to make
good his boast.
ititit Rangers of Fortune
It's a shame this picture doesn't have
a better title; it deserves one.
Yep, it's a western, but it's not like any
you've seen. There are three rootin',
tootin' gents named Fred MacMurray,
Albert Dekker and Gilbert Roland who
wander around the countryside spread-
ing consternation and confusion wher-
ever they go. They're three lads without
conscience and completely devoid of
common sense, but they're good natured
and — yes, they have hearts of gold. You
might call it Robin Hood in triplicate.
It seems there's a small town some-
where in the west which is being victim-
ized by a dastardly group of villains and
our three lads clean things up. It's all
done tongue in cheek, and there is more
emphasis on comedy than action.
MacMurray in spurs, hip boots and
toting a couple of six-shooters may strike
you as somewhat strange. But partner
him with Gilbert as a silver-tongued,
twinkle-in-the-eye caballero, add Dek-
ker as a slug-nutty comic (uh huh, the
same Dekker who has always been a
heavy up to now) and you have a hunk
of imaginative casting! Are they success-
ful? So much so that the studio has
decided to put all three into a sequel
even faster than you can read this.
There are a number of other swell
troupers including Patricia Morison,
Dick Foran and Joe Schildkraut. But
the name you want to learn at this stage
of the game is Betty Brewer. She is
about 13 years old and a bit o' all right
— star-dust if ever we've smelled it. Di-
rected by Sam Wood. — Paramount.
POSTSCRIPTS: Little Betty Brewer was
found singing for pennies in front of a
Hollywood night club; has had no dra-
matic training . . . Since her work in
"Rangers of Fortune" she's been cast by
Paramount in the forthcoming "The
Roundup," with Preston Foster, Richard
Dix and Patricia Morison . . . Locale of
film is supposed to be Texas, but is really
the Mojave Desert, 100 miles from Holly-
wood . . . Albert Dekker, who portrays
a pug of the '70's, had to trail along
behind a covered wagon, shadow boxing.
He lost 16 pounds . . . The town itself
was constructed within two huge sound
stages in Hollywood.
ititit Argentine Nights
What do you expect from a movie?
If it's sense — stay home, don't see this
one. If it's fun, well, then, this is your
dish.
The billing tells you that this picture
stars the Ritz Brothers. What's more
important is that the picture introduces
the Andrews Sisters. That gives you
two trios, to which you may add Con-
stance Moore with an all-gal swing band,
a bunch of corny gags and a lot of hot
rhythm, which should be anybody's
ducat's worth. In fact, it's right down the
groove.
Those Andrews gals. They're not much
to look at, but when they begin exercis-
ing their tonsils — wow! What they can
do to swing is nobody's business. It is
hot and hotcha. And how!
The story? A bunch of guys named
Ritz get mixed up with a bunch of girls
named Andrews and a bunch of other
girls without any special names, and they
all go to South America to play a date
in a fancy hotel. But when they get
there, there isn't any hotel, and it's our
guess at that point somebody up and
threw away the script. That doesn't
make any sense? Well, neither does the
picture. But who cares?
The Ritz Brothers are pretty funny and
the Andrews Sisters are very hot. And
Connie Moore is an eyeful. There are a
half dozen good songs which you'll be
hearing on your favorite juke box this
winter. Swing it, men! Directed by Al-
bert Rogell. — Universal.
POSTSCRIPTS: This is the Ritz Brothers'
first picture since their return from a
coast-to-coast personal appearance tour
which, incidentally, was a box-office wow
. . . They are actually the brothers Joa-
quin, changed to Ritz because we all
know how to pronounce that . . . Brave
boys; they used no doubles for the knife
throwing scenes, in which they are nailed
to a wall by steel blades . . . "The
Brooklynonga," which the three boys
sing and dance, is a combination of the
Brooklyn jitterbug and the conga . . .
The Andrews Sisters are the girls whose
88
MODERN SCREEN
warbling of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,"
"Well, All Right," "Hold Tight," etc., sell
nearly two million records each year . . .
Constance Moore was selected as the
ideal "American Girl" by five of the na-
tion's most distinguished artists . . .
Screen newcomer, George Reeves (other
half of the romance) is the boy you may
have noticed as one of the Tarleton twins
in "Gone With the Wind."
*** Christmas in July
About a year ago Preston Sturges got
tired of being just a writer, went to Para-
mount's bosses and told them that he
wanted to be a director. First they laughed
at him, then they compromised by letting
him direct one of his own stories. When
"The Great McGinty" was finished, they
stopped laughing and assigned him to
write and direct another film. This is it,
and it's a honey. It has a warm, lovable,
human quality which is rare in filmdom.
Every one of the characters will remind
you of somebody you know, they are all
so incredibly true to life.
When you begin analyzing the story
you realize there isn't so very much to
it. It's really a fantastic sort of modern
fairy tale, but all the characters are be-
lievable, so you swallow the whole yarn.
Sturges has managed to get A-l honest
performances out of Dick Powell and
Ellen Drew, so that you're rooting for 'em
all the way through.
This is a new Dick Powell, by the way.
You've never seen him as good as this.
If he can get a few more parts like this
one, he will be the most perfect example
of "comeback kid" in town. There is none
of that pretty-boy phony that held him
back some years ago. He's just a guy
named Jimmy and it seems like you've
known and liked him for years.
Jimmy is a nice kid who dreams a lot
and one of his dreams is that he may
marry Ellen Drew, who lives in the next
tenement and works at the next desk in
the office. Another of his dreams is that
he will win a big $25,000 slogan contest.
He gets both wishes, of course, but via
the screwiest set of circumstances imag-
inable. Totally impossible. Utterly ridicu-
lous. But anyway, it's fun.
There are a lot of acting credits to
hand out, but tops go to Dick and Ellen.
Miss Drew is more surprising in each
film. If she is not an absolute leader
among filmdom's stars in another year,
it will be astonishing.
Give a quick acting nod to Raymond
Walburn, Alexander Carr, William Dema-
rest, Harry Hayden and Julius Tannen.
Directed by Preston Sturges. — Para-
mount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Ellen Drew
was a waitress at Brown's, Hollywood
candy shop, when William Demarest dis-
covered her. He was then an agent and
he fought for months to get her a break;
this is the first film they've acted in
together . . . Demarest is an ex-vaude-
villian; he tried hard to become an agent
UP-TO-DATE ADDRESS LIST!
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to us and ask for it, enclosing a large,
self-addressed and stamped envelope.
Don't forget that last item, as no request
can be complied with otherwise. Please
send request to Information Desk, Mod-
ern Screen, 149 Madison Ave., New
York, New York.
but every time he went to a studio to
sell actors, they said no to his list but yes
to himself . . . Ernest Truex was the
first leading man ever employed by Para-
mount, oldest of the still-going movie
companies; 27 years ago he was Mary
Pickford's vis-a-vis in "The Good Little
Devil" . . . Writer-director Sturges ap-
pears in the film, just as a lark. He is the
man getting his shoes shined in a short
sequence. Dick Powell directed the scene.
. . . Midway in the picture Ellen Drew
was thrown by a wooden hobby horse
and sustained quite an injury . . . The
black cat figuring prominently in a num-
ber of sequences is Sturges' own pet,
Hamlet . . . Julius Tannen, who plays a
short character bit, will be recalled by
many as one of the glibbest vaudeville
comics of a few years ago.
**'/2 The Quarterback
Here, kiddies, is a surprise package; a
real, pleasant little piece of entertain-
ment. It makes no pretensions; it's just a
movie — but you'll enjoy it.
There are two factors involved. In the
first place, someone had a swell story
idea — a new twist in the old football
theme. In the second place, it presents a
youngster named Wayne Morris who,
while still not a star, is on his way. A
few more pictures like this and he'll be
one!
Timed perfectly to coincide with the
opening of the football season, this is
frankly a rah-rah Joe College yarn. But
that new twist! Are you all agog with
curiosity? Well, Wayne Morris is a stu-
dious kid who really wants to learn his
lessons, but he can't afford the tuition.
His twin brother (Wayne plays both
parts) is no great shakes scholastically,
but he's admitted to college on his foot-
ball record. The twins make believe they
are really one person, and while one
studies and gets all A's, the other plays
football and wins all the games. Trouble
starts when they both fall in love with
Virginia Dale!
The Morris boy will make himself a
lot of friends. Virginia Dale is a sort of
road company edition of Betty Grable —
blonde and cute, but not history-making.
Lillian Cornell is another girl who has
almost clicked for a long time — but she
doesn't quite make it this time, either.
Bill Frawley and Walter Catlett are very
funny in supporting roles, and Frank
Burke is a kid with a big future. He's
a little bit of a shrimp with a very funny
map and beautiful delivery. Watch him!
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone. —
Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Wayne Morris
went through all sorts of rough tactics
for this picture without any cuts or
bruises; but wound up in the hospital a
week later as the result of an auto crash.
. . . Barbara and Bob Pittes, 20-day old
twins, make their movie bow here; they
worked a total of two hours in the film.
. . . Campus scenes were made at U.C.L.
A., but the movie makers didn't think it
looked like a college, so they plastered
phony ivy on most of the lovely build-
ings before they camera-ed 'em . . .
Alan Mowbray was the only actor to
get temperamental during filming. He had
one long scientific speech to make, so a
prop man lettered it on a blackboard for
him, to help out; Mowbray was enraged!
Seems he's got an infallible memory and
doesn't need help in remembering his
lines. . . . This is the eighth time William
Frawley has played a movie football
coach — and his teams have never lost a
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Frank Burke broke into films
as a youthful edition of Jimmy Cagney.
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DECEMBER, 1940
89
THE MAN HUNT IS ON!
(Continued jrom page 29)
George unhitched from Grace Mulrooney?
George Brent: Cinematically perfect,
romantically a toughie. Disillusioned,
cynical, experienced. Apparently content
and happy to romp with Ann Sheridan
for the present. Doesn't hand his tele-
phone number around. Never did!
John Carroll: Being groomed for big
things cinematically. A success in "Hired
Wife." A good film future. Ex-husband
of Steffi Duna. Family on the society
side. Won't be snagged very easily.
Bob Cummings: Handsome, talented—
and married.
Well, those are a few of the typical
cases. It gives you some notion of what
has been going on. Remember that actors
groomed for romantic leads have a fatal
tendency to getting married— which up-
sets all sorts of plans. For one thing, it
almost always lessens their box office
appeal. Also it makes a romantic build-
up by the studios an impossibility.
John Shelton, M-G-M's white hope, is
another problem to harried hostesses.
They can't even count on him as an occa-
sional fourth for bridge, he's so wrapped
up in his career! He studies his tests
and his movies; he studies other men's
acting technique and is constantly trying
to improve himself. He explained recent-
ly to a close friend that he didn't think
a young actor should ever play around
or go to night clubs. He'll be a good
catch for some gal as soon as his divorce
is final, but he's burning up the town
with midnight oil, not a cigarette lighter.
THE case of Bob Sterling, who's being
groomed for leads at Twentieth
Century-Fox, is typical and to the
point. In a candid moment recently he
explained that he doesn't earn enough
money to take a girl to Ciro's and he
doesn't dare take her anywhere else.
Well, he and several of his friends have
solved the problem— if solution is the
word— by going stag to night clubs and
cutting in on a dance here and there.
But this doesn't help the girls any.
Bob also says that he shies away from
the woman question because he doesn't
want the town to think that he's trading
on any female star's publicity. At the
same time, he doesn't want some little
nobody using him. If you read in the
gossip columns that he was out with
anyone, you may be pretty sure that it
was on a studio order.
The same is true of George Montgom-
ery. Not so long ago he took Marjorie
Weaver to a preview. He'll prob-
ably knock my head off for telling you
this, but he took her there because the
studio ordered him to. And the studio
had to lend him the fancy clothes because
he simply couldn't afford to buy them.
Notable among the poor but famous
youths is Bill Holden. He and Brenda
Marshall happen to be in love. Well,
Brenda actually offered to pay the ex-
penses when they had to make publicity
appearances, because she knew how
broke Bill was. But, of course, he would
not have any of that.
Remember this. These young fellows
who are star material have a lot of
pride. They like to pay their own way.
In Holden's case, poverty and pride have
probably combined into a distinct case of
protection. The feminine stars who need
gigolos can't get anywhere with him.
Jeffrey Lynn, who after years of minor
parts is getting a break, is another case
in point. Jeff is a New Englander and
very strait-laced. He goes places with
Dana Dale now, because she shares his
preference for ping-pong and rides in the
country. He's been quoted to the effect
that he would never be a sucker for the
night clubs— just doesn't like them. He's
a number one catch for some film gal,
but he's not buying orchids or making
transatlantic phone calls to any cuties.
Dennis Morgan, who made a trium-
phant appearance in Los Angeles in the
light opera, "The Student Prince," sing-
ing the title role, and whom Warners
have kept neatly in the shadow ever
since, has several handicaps, socially. For
one thing, he's married. For another, he's
keeping right on with his singing lessons.
And that means that he leads a pretty
normal life and doesn't do any Errol
Flynn-ing hither and yon.
Bill Lundigan and Robert Wilcox are
an interesting case. They both started
out together at Universal in bit parts.
The flashy Bob rose very rapidly to leads,
was borrowed by another studio for a
picture, fell in love transcontinentally
with Joy Hodges, spectacularly and sud-
denly married Florence Rice, was di-
vorced, and ended in a Beverly Hills jail
on suspicion of forgery — which takes him
at least temporarily out of circulation.
Lundigan, on the other hand, worked
hard for several years at Universal,
The hitherto untold story of
Orson Welles' incredible year
in Hollywood!
Don't miss the January
MODERN SCREEN
studying the business of acting, going out
quietly with girls, but never with any
of the spectacular ones. Eventually he
got a Warner contract. He fell in love
with Margaret Lindsay, and she has taken
him off the available list. Bill goes to a
few more night clubs now than he used
to, but he has never been the silk hat
type. He has always stuck pretty care-
fully to the limits of his pocketbook.
Victor Mature seems to have switched
from Liz Whitney to Lana Turner which
definitely takes him off the general mar-
ket. Hal Roach had a lot of trouble with
Vic when he had his first success in
"1,000,000 Years B.C." His hats didn't fit
him for a while and he began flitting
around with various flashy gals. These
by-paths held him up, but everything is
okay now. However, it looks like he's
holding out for the upper crust and no
little stock player is going to get much
of a break.
Orson Welles, who brought new blood
into the old stream of the town, was not
around very long before he got snagged
by Dolores Del Rio; and he has stayed
that way. In spite of the ribbing he has
taken, "Citizen Kane" will probably be
a smash hit and Hollywood will have one
more top-ranking star to sell.
Robert Stack, Universal's socialite white
hope, who made good in Metro's "The
Mortal Storm," is seriously interested in
Mary Beth Hughes. Bob is impatient with
the progress he has made in films so far.
He wants to get places fast. Actually, of
course, he's done very well, considering
his newness to the game, and he should
be a permanent addition to the profes-
sional colony. But it appears that he may
marry Mary pretty soon and, consequent-
ly, will be off the available bachelor list,
socially.
Desi Arnaz, the Cuban dancer who will
be a rage when "Too Many Girls" is re-
leased, had been in Hollywood barely a
week before Lucille Ball snagged him.
Professionally, he will undoubtedly be a
profitable addition to Hollywood; so-
cially, he is available for marriage but
is far too astute to be snapped up hur-
riedly. Whether he will go the way of
Cesar Romero, who has made himself
indispensable to many stars and an ac-
cessory of none, no one knows, of course.
Desi is a little less calculating than Cesar,
and he'll probably get married pretty soon.
CESAR ROMERO, perennial playboy,
is what Hollywood needs more of,
according to the complaints of the stars.
He has a position on the screen that is
adequate, if not spectacular. He can be
trusted as a confidant and called upon
at the last minute for a date. He dances
divinely, but avoids marriage like the
plague. , . . ,
And Reginald Gardiner can best be
described as a British Cesar Romero.
Analytically, and from a professional
standpoint, there is good reason for the
fact that there is a man shortage m
Hollywood. In the first place, it has al-
ways been true that fewer men want to
be actors than women want to be ac-
tresses. A man cannot be prettied up very
much before the camera. A romantic
lead— and this is where the scarcity is so
very pronounced— simply must appear to
be worth the heroine's struggles to make
him marry her. He must be either hand-
some or virile.
Another reason is that actors have more
individuality and it is harder to find good
stories for them. Roz Russell is a steno
in "Hired Wife" and an actress in "No
Time for Comedy." She can be a lot of
different types of heroine. But Spencer
Tracy's story material is limited to the
general character he has built up in the
public's mind.
For many years Bob Montgomery was
a smart-aleck wisecracker, and it almost
ruined his professional career because he
fought so hard to get away from this
characterization.
Men get typed faster than women. John
Garfield is a good illustration of this. He
has been a jailbird in six of his last seven
pictures.
In order to be good box office an actor
should have a touch of Flynnomania or a
Barrymorian flair for the unusual. At the
very least, an actor must be willing to
live up to the publicity which his studio
pins on him. And men are less willing
to be made a public fool of than women.
They are more likely to be businessmen,
less the flaming butterfly.
Gossip, blackmail and scandal hover
over the actor, always. In divorces it is
noblesse oblige so that he must take the
brunt of the accusations. If he socks some
annoyer, his publicity is bad. If he gets
into an accident, he is accused of being
drunk and disorderly.
And so it is really a wonder that any
of them come through the box office suc-
cess. Many thousands are tested — but the
fact remains that the Hollywood man
market is much below par and any young
man from Dubuque, Iowa, or points East,
West, North or South who photographs
half-way decently can have the town
plus all the trimmings.
If he wants it, the sucker.
90
Printed in the U. S. A. by the Art Color Printing Company, Dunellen, N. J.
MODERN SCREEN
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JL C m JJL JLJL wJ.
UNTIL, ALAS, SHE SMILED!
Don't risk the charm of your own precious smile. Help keep your gums
firm, your teeth sparkling with Ipana and Massage.
IN HIS EYES she saw her hopes come true!
And her heart beat fast to read his
thoughts . . ."How lovely, how truly lovely
you are"!
Her moment of magic!— but then she
smiled... and lost! For dull teeth... a life-
less smile ... are a poor invitation to love
and romance.
YES, IT'S TRAGIC INDEED for a girl to
let her beauty be dimmed by a dull and
dingy smile! And often
so needless! If you
would make yours a
smile that invites and
never repels, heed this
expert advice: Give
your gums as well as
your teeth regular
daily care . . . and nev-
er ignore the warning
of "pink tooth brush"!
THAT TINGE OF
"PINK" may not mean
serious trouble . . . but
the minute you see it,
see your dentist! He may
simply tell you that
. ': .'; your gums, denied hard
J» chewing by today's soft
foods, have become
weak and flabby from lack of exercise.
And, like so many dentists these days, he
may suggest, "the healthful stimulation of
Ipana and massage."
FOR IPANA, WITH MASSAGE, is spe-
cially designed to aid the gums to health
as well as clean teeth thoroughly. So, every
time you brush your teeth, massage a little
extra Ipana onto your gums. Feel that in-
vigorating "tang"— exclusive with Ipana
and massage. It tells you that gum circula-
tion is improving— stimulating gum tis-
sues—helping gums to sounder health.
TRY IPANA TOOTH PASTE today. And
begin now the faithful, every day use of
Ipana and massage. See for yourself how
much this sound and sensible dental habit
helps make your gums stronger and
firmer, your teeth brighter and your smile
more radiantly attrac-
tive.
Get the new D. D.
Tooth Brush too— spe-
cially designed with
the twisted handle for
more thorough cleans-
ing, more effective gum
massage. A "plus" for
aiding your smile.
IPANA TOOTH PASTE
JANUARY, 1941
3
©C1B 47 9424
OEC IP
>M0
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The grand total circulation of this col-
umn is 30,936,879. To every one of our
readers in the twenty-nine national mag-
azines, the lion roars a Merry Xmas.
As a pre-holiday treat we present you
with one of those dashing affairs with
Clark Gable doing most of the dashing.
★ ★ ★ ★
And Hedy Lamarr is something to dash
after- ★/★.★*
"Comrade X"— that's Clark— is a
mysterious correspondent who attempts
to smuggle news past the censor and
Hedy Lamarr past the immigration.
★ ★ ★ ★
He is caught smuggling Hedy.
★ ★ ★ ★
The film is a confection of suspense,
speed and merriment. The screen play,
written by Ben Hecht and Charles Led-
erer, has a pace that is Hechtic.
★ ★ ★ ★
Our studio spies send us a warning that
"Comrade X" is a most dangerous pic-
ture. People laugh themselves sick and
the laughter is contagious.
An epidemic of laughter isn't a bad idea.
★ * ★ ★
Knee-bends to those great characteriza-
tions (in addition to Gable and Lamarr)
by Oscar Homolka, Felix Bressart and
Eve Arden.
★ ★ ★ ★
King Vidor, whose direction is direct, has
not missed on this one. Long live King!
★ ★ ★ *
It's a great job, M-G-M. More "Com-
rade X"es, say we all of us.
★ ★ ★ ★
In fact, there'll be a movement afoot
to rename the merry season..
They're thinking of calling it—
★ * * * p
Comrade Xmas. JJM-
Advertisement lor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
"DEAREST OLIVIA AND JOAN . ."
Sharing some intimate memories with the man who knew them when 24
HOW LOVE HAS CHANGED!
The old technique ain't what it used to be and Mary Astor proves it! 26
A RIGHT GUY!
Lots of people defy convention — but Gary Cooper gets away with it! 30
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, MY DARLING
A letter to Dick Greene from one fan who isn't forgetting — Ginny Field 32
PAGING DENNIS MORGAN
The man of the hour gives you even more reasons for raving! 34
IT'S IDLE GOSSIP! SAYS BETTE
But there's a twinkle in her eye when she dismisses your favorite rumor 36
IT'S ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING
Checking up on the year's big moments — before and behind the camera 40
THE DOCTOR VIEWS HIS CASE
How Dr. Kildare saved Lew Ayres from passing out of the pictures 42
IT'S AN OLD SOTHERN CUSTOM
Ann keeps her hubby in gray hairs, and the rest of the world in stitches 46
HOLLYWOOD'S BANKRUPT GENIUS
Here's the lowdown on why Orson's going broke in a million dollar town! 51
CONFESSIONS OF A CAMPUS CUTIE
A sheepskin from a dozen movie colleges — no wonder Betty's worldly-wise 68
WOOLLY WITCHERY
Elegant gifts for favorite cronies — and a bit of glamour for your Butch 8
UNDER THE MISTLETOE
Be a gorgeous menace in this slim V snaky negligee 47
WELL DRESSED UNDRESSED
Frothy finery to bring out the strip-tease in the best of us 48
PROP SHOP
Some darling "nylon fillers"— big in appeal, but wee in price 50
Lucky Stars • *
- Information Desk '®
Movie Reviews
Modern Hostess • '/}
Whooping It Up! J*
Portrait Gallery
Fun in FilmvHIe *°
On the Set with "Flotsam"
Beauty Notes for Christmas Belles 52
Good News
Our Puzzle Page y
Movie Scoreboard
Cover Girl: Priscilla Lane, natural color photograph by Scotty Welbourne
PEARL H. FINLEY • Editor
SYLVIA KAHN . Hollywood Reporter OTTO STORCH • Art Editor
copy price 10c in U. S. and Canada, U. S. subscription p ice » i.uua ye 7 Postoffice, Dunellen, N. J.,
foreign subscription $2 20 a year. Entered as second c| s „,a ff'^^J^ Francisco, Calif., Houston, Texas-
under Act of March ,3 1 87^ Additional second c '^'^l^^Sftrffi the return of unsolicited material.
r&S'c&roSrl ^ ^i'oJt^^ ^ H-ame of any livins person is used it is purely a
coincidence. Trademark No. 301773.
MODERN SCREEN
THE PICTURE OF THE MONTH!
Ever since M - G - M gave to the public its memorable production
"Hell Divers", this famed studio has sought a drama equally thrilling
and romantic,- with a spectacular background of America's fighting
chips of the air. Here it is, surpassing highest hopes for a successor!
It is the story of the "Hell Cats" of the Navy's Armada of the
skies ... excitingly filmed at Pensacola, San Diego and Pearl Harbor...
a romance of air -devils and the beauties who love them... a pic-
ture that will electrify America with its breath-taking unfolding!
WITH
RUTH HUSSEY * WALTER PIDGEON
PAUL KELLY • SHEPPARD STRUDWICK • NAT PENDLETON
A FRANK BORZAGE PRODUCTION
Screen Play by Wells Root and Commander Harvey Haislip (f'nTf
Directed by Frank Borzage • Produced by J. Walter Ruben
WALTER PIDGEON
as the Commander
and. . .
RUTH HUSSEY
as the girl who made
the "Hell Cats" purr!
JANUARY, 1941
S
Lucia
Carroll
Tanya Patricia Kay
Widrin Van Cleve Leslie
Jayne Marilyn
Hazard Merrick
LUCKY
STARS
After a ten-year lapse the
Wampus Baby Star contest
sprang to life again and
pointed an encouraging
finger at the ingenues most
likely to succeed in 1941.
Luck and judges favored
dark tresses and an average
of 115 pounds, 5'4", 18
years of age, 24/2" waist,
341/2" bust and 351/2" hips-
Guests of honor at the affair were past Wampus
stars, the majority of whom became well-established
in pictures just a year or two after the contest. One
such instance was Dolores Del Rio who confided that
she was amazed at the talent displayed by this
year's crop. Said she, in her day the "Babies!" had
beauty but none of the stage experience and ability
to sing, dance and emote that these kids have!
NAME AGE HOMETOWN
HEIGHT
WT.
HAIR
Joan Leslie
16
Detroit, Mich.
5'
4"
116
Auburn
Sheila Ryan
19
Topeka, Kan.
5'
2'
107
Brown
Ella Bryan
22
Zurich, Switz.
5'
3"
110
Lt. Brown
Jayne Hazard
18
Tampa, Florida
5
5"
118
Blonde
Marilyn Merrick
17
Fort Worth, Tex.
5
4"
119
Blonde
Lois Ranson
18
Hollywood, Cal.
5
3'
110
Lt. Brown
Lorraine Elliott
19
Detroit, Mich
5
2
110
Black
Tanya Widrin
20
San Francisco, Cal.
5
4W
117
Brown
Peggy Diggins
18
New Rochelle, N. Y.
5
7
118
Black
Kay Leslie
21
Fresno, Cal.
5
6"
124
Red-Brown
Gay Parkes
22
Nashville, Tenn.
5
3'
109
Gold
Lucia Carroll
24
Wausau, Wis.
5
5"
118
Brown
Patricia Van Cleve
19
New York City, N.Y.
5
6V2"
115
Blonde
6
6
MODERN SCREEN
It's Here!
The thundering story that
challenges all filmdom to
match its excitement!
'Iron Rails to Kansas . . .
Iron Nerves from there on!"
ERROL FLYNN
ouviaDeHAVILLAND
Original Screen Play
by Robert Buckner
Music by Max Steiner
c danger with a thousand thrills a mile!
whh RAYMOND MASSEY
RONALD REAGAN -ALAN HALE
Wm. Lundigan • Van HeflitrGene Reynolds
Henry O'Neill • Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL CURTIZ
The big hi) ^
'5«">»Q Fe Trair
r'Bht after
W'H be
Wo
o the 'Fo
Do
"9hle
rOur
rs'[
JANUARY, 1941
7
Woolly Witchery
Witches don't have a monopoly on sorcery nowadays. Try a little
enchanting on your own wardrobe with these hand-knit togs. They'll
add a caldron of oomph to every skirt, jacket and coat, and people's
eyebrows will "up" when they see you've conjured it all with an
innocent pair of knitting needles. Don't break the spell and
tell 'em, but it's as easy as pie! We send you directions
for every blessed move you have to make, so you can't
g possibly fall into the pearly deep. And the price is
the most bewitching fact of all. Practically all you
do is rub a few pennies together to obtain the yarn!
And when you're finished, you can make magic from
daybreak till next morning's milkman in chunky
"Cock o' the Walk" or "Glengarry" scarf and cap.
For special occasions, like your best beau's cock-
tail party, go Circe-like in "Cafe Society," and
for more informal bedevilment verve up your
blacks and browns with gala "Mexicana."
1228 — As quick as you can
say "Mumbo Jumbo," you
can whip up this sturdy
cable-stitched "Cock o' the
Walk" in a variety of shades.
1190 — Only a wizard could
design this festive zippered
"Mexicana" cardigan! But
it's simple to make in the
smart new jiffy-knit stitch!
2389 — Cast a spell on your
special date with "Glen-
garry" scarf and Bonnie cap
crocheted of bunny-soft
yarn in a choice of colors.
1223 — It doesn't take Voo-
doo to knit "Cafe Society,"
a lacy three-color sweater
blouse with scalloped yoke.
Elegant by day and by night.
Send in the coupon below with
a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Instructions are absolutely free.
ANN WILLS, Modern Screen
149 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y.
Kindly send, at no cost to me:
Directions for Nos. 1228-1190
Directions for Nos. 2389-1223
I enclose a stamped, self -addressed (large)
envelope.
Name. *
Street
City state
MODERN SCREEN
THE GLORIOUS SEQUEL TO "LITTLE WOMEN" BECOMES
THE GRANDEST COMEDY-ROMANCE OF THE YEAR!
Only Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women," the picture
millions will always remember, could write this sequel you will
never forget. More laughs . . . more romance . . . more downright
enjoyment than you've had since you can remember!
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod. Produced by Gene Towne and Graham Baker • Screen Play by Mark Kelly and Arthur Cae
BraH m Ml
JANUARY, 1941
Follow Linda Darnell's example and
drop ns a line. We promise to answer!
NOTE- If you desire a reply by mail,
send a stamped, self-addressed envelope
to Information Desk, Modem Screen, 149
Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y.
W. E. Ramshaw, Fort Davis, Canal Zone.
To settle that argument about Mae West
—she's 5' 4" tall and averages 116 pounds
of appeal.
Teresa Jaskolshi, Two Rivers, Wiscon-
sin David Niven and Dick Greene have
gone to war in England . . . Spencer
Tracy is 40 years old, would you believe
it"? Bing Crosby's most recent pic-
ture was "Rhythm on the River," and
he's appearing in "Road to Zanzibar in
the near future . . . Charles Boyer is
married to Pat Paterson . . . Bette Davis
is divorced, but is still very friendly with
her husband whom she sees on her New
York jaunts.
Helen Owen, Camden, New Jersey.
Nope Billy Halop was not found m the
New York slums. He's the son of a well-
to-do Long Island lawyer and plans to
retire on $100 a week by the time hes
35' Getting his start on the air waves,
he leaped to fame via the stage show,
"Dead End," and the movie of the same
title 5' 10" tall, he weighs 155 pounds.
Girls are just girls to him at this stage,
but watch the columns for the inevitable
capitulation at the feet of one of those
Hollywood Durbins!
Constance Van Voorhis, Washington,
D. C. You can reach Franchot Tone at
Universal Studios, Universal City, Cali-
fornia. Send birthday cards on February
27th 'cause that's the big day when he
was born in Niagara Falls, New York,
thirty-five years ago. He's six feet tall
and weighs an even 160 pounds.
Mabel Higgs, Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Ruth Chatterton's ex-husbands are Ralph
Forbes and George Brent, who have be-
come very good friends in Hollywood.
At present, Ruth is touring the country
with a stock company, and performs in
"Private Lives" among other stage plays.
Turner Byrd, Barney, ' Georgia. Don't
miss John Payne in "The Great Profile"
and "Tin Pan Alley," and Jackie Cooper
in "The Aldrich Family in Life With
Henry." Jackie wants to change his
name to plain "Jack," but his studio
stands in the way!
Roma Ann Heath, Andover, Ohio. You
can write to Warner Baxter at 20th Cen-
tury-Fox, Box 900, Beverly Hills, Cali-
fornia. They'll be only too glad to send
you an autographed picture for twenty-
five cents in either stamps or coin.
Gremain, St. John's, Newfoundland. Glad
to hear from you way up there in the
snowy north! Deanna Durbin's next pic-
ture is nothing but a gleam in Joe^ Pas-
ternak's eye right now, but when it's put
upon the screen it'll be called "Nice
Girl." Deanna's warbling was never bet-
ter than in "It's Foolish Bu" It's Fun,"
"Waltzing in the Clouds," "When April
Sings" and "Blue Danube Dream," all
heard in "Spring Parade" . . . Gloria
Jean's playing opposite that cute Bobby
Stack in her latest film, "A Little Bit of
Heaven" . . . The other rising star you
asked about, Leni Lynn, is a singer just
as you guessed. This little 15-year-old
got her start when her schoolmates in
Passaic, New Jersey, chipped in their
pennies to pay her way to Hollywood!
Jeanne Dye, Los Angeles, California.
It's a pleasure for us to tell all about
Eddie Albert, 'cause we think he's just
about as slick as you do! Good news is—
he's thirty-two and unmarried! Eddie is
the only nickname for his christened
"Edward." In the sports field he's hap-
piest playing golf or watching an ice-
hockey game, but in the more leisurely
pursuits, prefers reading books and lis-
tening to symphony music. As for size,
he's five feet eleven inches tall and
weighs 160 pounds. He has blue eyes and
brown hair. Since his departure from the
Broadway stage he's made five pictures
and is scheduled for two more in the
near future.
Mrs. Helms, Port Arthur, Texas. Sorry
to pronounce you the loser in your little
bet, but Myrna Loy was never William
Powell's off-screen wife.
Katherine Dassos, New York City. Joel
McCrea is one of those happier mortals
who's realized a childhood ambition. He
owns a 1,000-acre rancho where he
spends every spare moment riding his
buckin' broncs and rounding up cattle
like a regular cowboy. Part of his
love of the plains is inherited from
his forefathers who pioneered in the
West and set up prosperous homesteads
there. By the time Joel came along his
family was wealthy and established as
one of the first names in Hollywood, and
so they felt it only proper to send their
son to a private school. The sole private
kindergarten in the city was unfortu-
nately called "Hollywood School for
Girls," and it was there that poor Joel
was forced to go! Doug Fairbanks, Jr.,
was another victim, so the two boys nec-
essarily struck up a close friendship
which has lasted to this day! After high
school our blue-eyed Irishman went to
Pomona College where he majored in
dramatics and met his first stroke of real
luck. Playing the lead opposite Sam
Wood's daughter, he naturally came un-
der the eye of the great director and re-
ceived hearty encouragement from him.
After two years of intensive training in
stock and bit roles he landed a big part m
"The Jazz Age" in 1929. He's six feet
two inches tall and weighs 185 pounds,
towering over all the other screen stars
except Gary Cooper who reaches the
same height. Born on Nov. 5th in 1905,
he's been lucky in everything, especially
love. Married to Frances Dee for 7 years,
he's the proud papa of two rugged boys.
Margie Monroe, Cincinnati, Ohio. Al-
though Fredric March was born with
the unromantic name of Frederic Ernest
Mclntyre Bickel in Racine, Wisconsin,
on August 31, 1897, his looks compen-
sated for whatever he lost in title. Brown-
haired and brown-eyed, he grew to six
feet in height and weighs 170 pounds.
After graduation from the University of
Wisconsin he pursued a career on the
stage until the talkies came in. At that
time he went to Hollywood and became
one of the leading stars of the screen.
His biggest hits include "Anna Kare-
nina," "Mary of Scotland" and "The Buc-
caneer." Watch for him with Betty Field
in the soon-to-be-released "Victory."
Married to Florence Eldridge, he has two
good-looking kids, Penelope and An-
thony.
Dorothy Powers, Staten Island, New
York. Richard Denning was the lad
who played the part of Bill Crane in
"Golden Gloves." No wonder you're in-
terested and well you may be. He's one
of the up-and-coming stars on the hori-
zon! Born in Poughkeepsie, New York,
right next to Vassar College, he early
in the game acquired his way with the
women. He's six feet one inch tall and
weighs 180 pounds, has dark brown hair
10
MODERN SCREEN
and blue eyes. His first picture was
"Hold 'Em Navy" in 1937, and his most
recent was "Those Were the Days."
Adeline Riese, Aurora, Indiana. Here are
the matrimonial facts! Dixie Lee is Bing
Crosby's first and only wife . . . Bill
Boyd's twice divorced (from Elinor Fair
and Dorothy Sebastian) and is currently
married to young and beautiful Grace
Bradley . . . Mary Astor's first husband
was Kenneth Hawks, since deceased . . .
Irving Wheeler was Carole Landis' first
hubby. Her second was Willis Hunt,
Jr., whom she divorced after two months
of heated squabbles.
A friend, Erie, Pennsylvania. Laraine
Day's played in "My Son, My Son," "And
One Was Beautiful," "Foreign Corre-
spondent" and all the Dr. Kildares. You
can get a photograph of her at Metro -
Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Culver City,
California.
Helen Schmuck. Youngest "Son of the
Pioneer" is Lloyd Perryman who's 23
years old. Pat Brady and Hugh Farr
are both 26, Carl Farr's 30 and Bob
Nolan, the leader, is a mellow 32 years.
All the boys go by their real names ex-
cept Brady, who shortens his Robert
Ellsworth to a Pat! Do you blame him?
Louise Morrisey, Ho-ho-kus, New Jer-
sey. Roy Rogers, Leonard Slye, B. M.
(before movies) has been hiding his
happy home life from us till now. Seems
he's been married for about two years
to a simple, naive, wholesome cowgirl
who has the same tastes as Roy and pre-
fers to stay home in the background of
her husband's fame. She's very pretty,
madly in love with her husband, and
they're supremely happy together. Re-
cently they adopted a little one, Cheryl
Darline, who'll be celebrating her six
months birthday before long.
Phyllis Welty, Miskawaka, Ind. Laraine
Day was born in Roosevelt, Utah on
October 13, 1920, one of five children.
She and her twin brother Lamar are
the "babies" of the family. When Laraine
was in the fifth grade (she was Loraine
Johnson then) her family moved to Long
Beach, Calif. Laraine joined the Players'
Guild when she was just a youngster,
and by the time she was entering her
teens she was considered a veteran and
was playing really important roles. She
has had the unique honor in movietown
of being discovered three times by talent
scouts! The first time was when she
was a junior in high school; the second,
when she was a senior, and the last time
was in December, 1939. Her first two
movie ventures weren't too successful.
She was horribly miscast as a hard-rid-
ing horse-opry queen. This time, though,
she seems to be on the right track, and
her role in "Foreign Correspondent"
definitely establishes her as a star. She
has an infectious sense of humor, but
occasionally enjoys what she calls a
"good brood." She loves hamburgers and
onions, writes poetry and has one ambi-
tion— to win an Oscar! She's five feet
five, weighs 112 pounds, has green eyes
and chestnut hair.
Jean Torpe, Berkeley, 111. She used to be
advertised as "Dixie's Dainty Dewdrop,"
but she first attracted the attention of
Hollywood by her ability to imitate the
sound of a machine gun. Know who she
is? Why, who else but Jane Withers! Jane's
first movie roles were downright bratty
and, after a few pictures in which she
appeared as the enfant terrible, people
began to think of her affectionately but
persistently as "that awful child." Just
when everybody had her typed as a
tomboy, Jane added three inches, tossed
away twelve pounds and set about be-
coming a glamour girl as enthusiastically
as she does everything else. With blue
eyes and dark brown hair, Jane now is
exactly five feet three and a half inches
tall and weighs 115 pounds.
June Ayres, Lawrenceburg, Ind. Don
(Red) Barry was born in Houston, Texas
on January 11, 1912, and his real name
is Donald De Costa. He's five feet eight
and one-half inches tall, weighs 160
pounds and has grey eyes and red hair.
He's not married yet, but is engaged
to cute little Peggy Stewart. "The Tulsa
Kid" is his latest film . . . The Sons of
the Pioneers include: Bob Nolan, the
leader and business manager, who is
thirty-two; Hugh Farr, who's twenty-
five; Carl Farr, thirty; Pat Brady (the
apple pie -eating comedian of the group)
who is twenty-five; Tim Spencer, thirty-
two; and Lloyd Perryman, twenty-three.
As far as our records show, none of them
is married. You can write to them at
Columbia Studios, 1438 N. Gower Street,
Hollywood, Calif.
Jeri Kidd, Pasadena, Calif. That tale
that's going round that Mary Lee is Gene
Autry's child is untrue. Gene is only
thirty-one and Mary's fifteen. You can
reach her at Republic Studios, 4024 Rad-
ford Avenue, Hollywood, California. . . .
Deanna Durbin is still seventeen, but
she'll be eighteen — and of marriageable
age — on December 4 . . . Ann Rutherford
is just about twenty; her birthday's No-
vember 2nd. She was born in Toronto,
Canada, and is a little bit over five
feet three. (Continued on page 65)
Lovely Brides Thrilled by this Great New
Improvement in Beauty Soaps !
• "I'm just thrilled by new Camay's wonderful mildness,"
says Mrs. F. M. Smith, Jr., Jackson Heights, L. I. "I always
take extra care with my skin— so I like a very mild beauty
soap. New Camay is so mild it actually seems to soothe my
Bkin as it cleanses. And that newfragrance is just marvelous!"
• "When I tell you that Camay is even more
wonderful than ever, that means something!"
writes Mrs. R. C. Hughes, Yeadon, Pennsyl-
vania. "I wouldn't ask for a milder soap."
NO WONDER women everywhere are talk-
ing about this wonderful new Camay— for
tests against 6 of the best-selling beauty
soaps we could find proved that new Camay
was milder than any of them, gave more
abundant lather in a short time.
If, like many beautiful women, you have a
skin that seems rather sensitive, try new
Camay. See for yourself how much its extra
mildness ... its more gentle cleansing . . . can
help you in your search for a lovelier skin!
THE SOAP OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN
JANUARY, 1941
11
i
**** AttlSK, MY LOVE
Here is one of the finest pictures of the year and Claudette
Colbert's best performance ever — not forgetting "It Happened
One Night." It is both timely and entertaining and should get
a lot of attention.
As the film starts, Ray Milland is an American volunteer with
the Loyalist army in Spain, and Claudette is an American news-
paper gal who puts on the weeps to save Ray from being shot
at sunrise by making believe she's his wife.
From here on it's a two-skeined story with our two leads
battling both romance and principles. At the end they decide
there are more important things in the world these days than
the love of two humans for each other.
The story is told poignantly and excitingly and, though the
sinking of the Athenia is a bit reminiscent of the Lusitania busi-
ness in "Cavalcade," it's first-class thrill stuff.
Claudette is positively inspired; she's never been as good, as
true, as believable, as lovely. And Ray Milland is not a number
two Cary Grant any more. He's Ray Milland, a personality
on his own.
There are a half dozen other good performers, most exciting
of which is Walter Abel in an old-fashioned newspaperman role,
and Ann Codee is tops in one strong emotional scene. Directed
by Mitchell Leisen. — Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The title of the picture comes from
the Song of Solomon, Chapter 2, verse 13 . . . This is the third
time Milland plays the part of a pilot (which he actually is),
with a fourth to come in the currently shooting "I Wanted Wings"
, . . Claudette saved the day by digging an old Maxim's menu
out of her trunk, when the studio couldn't get any . . . Director
Leisen has his own idea of a signature; he puts a live bird of
some sort into every film; this time there are doves in the
Compiegne love scene; very appropriate, too.
*★** THE LONG VOYAGE HOME
It's a little early to begin distributing the Academy Awards
for 1940, but there is no possible doubt that this film will get
the Oscars in at least two and perhaps three classifications. To
this reviewer's mind it is the finest film in a number of years.
It is real cinema, real art.
John Ford, who inaugurates his production career with this
picture, managed the astonishing task of integrating script, direc-
tion, camera and acting as the four have never been jelled before.
The result is not a film in which all the portions are well done
but a completely well-formed unit.
Taking as his base four one-act playlets by Eugene O'Neill,
Ford and his writer, Dudley Nichols, have managed to evolve an
exciting saga of the sea. Greg Toland is an astonishingly fine
cameraman. Never before have you seen such black and white
etching on the screen and several shots will thrill you to the
point of applause.
This flawless script and photography are set off by a whole
series of A-l acting performances by Thomas Mitchell, John
Wayne, John Qualen, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond
and Arthur Shields. Each of the characters is carefully thought
out and true. Each is better than you have ever seen him before.
As a matter of fact, these virile men of the sea are so vividly
12
MODERN SCREEN
j
portrayed that you women will forget all about the lack of boy-
girl romance. The only girl in the film who has any kind of
a scene is Mildred Natwick — and you won't forget her easily,
either. Directed by John Ford. — W anger-United Artists.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Dudley Nichols and John Ford
have teamed together on ten pictures previous to this one . . .
John Wayne first won fame as Duke Morrison, USC football star
. . . Thomas Mitchell owns one of the most valuable collections
of paintings in the country, including two Picassos and an original
Rembrandt . . . Arthur Shields and Barry Fitzgerald are brothers
and were formerly members of the famed Abbey Players in Dublin
. . . Wilfred Lawson came over from England for this role and
went right back at the end of the filming; he is now in active)
service with the RAF . . . Ward Bond has been in pictures for
many years, but his death scene here will get him a lot of
renewed attention . . . John Qualen used to play a flute in a
symphony orchestra, so his flute playing in this picture is genuine;
he is also a painter . . . Jack Pennick and Wayne suffered broken
ribs and concussions while filming the storm sequences . . . The
S. S. Glencairn was really the S. S. Munami of the McCormick
Line . . . The camera never moves in this production and less
light was used for the filming than in any previous picture.
THE THIEF OF BAGDAD
Every once in a while along comes a picture like "The Thief
of Bagdad," which none of the critics' regulation formulas fit.
This one's way off the beaten track. It's a beautifully and imagi-
natively conceived spectacle taking place in ancient Bagdad and
involving a series of fantastic happenings. There's a magic
carpet and a magic horse which flies through the air. To say
nothing of genies and a lovelorn prince and princess. Whether
you'll like it or not depends on your willingness to play a game
with producer Alex Korda. If you'll abandon yourself to his
mood and let him spin you a yarn, he'll guarantee you a good time.
Sabu is perfect as a little ragamuffin who is the bane of all
Bagdad with his thievery, but lovable nonetheless. Conrad Veidt
is such a villain he'll frighten you for weeks afterwards. June
Duprez is a bee-utiful princess, but John Justin is a mite too
pretty as a prince. Rex Ingram, one of the picture's few American
actors, is perfectly cast and gives a gem of a performance as
the genie.
The Technicolor is astoundingly beautiful. Directed by Ludwig
Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan. — Korda-V nited Artists.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Rights to the story were bought
by Korda from the late Douglas Fairbanks, who made a version
of it once with himself in the role that little Sabu plays here . . .
About a year's work was done in London and the film was to be
finished in Africa, but was completed in Hollywood instead . . .
A pack train of 40 mules, carrying 30 persons and $40,000 in
equipment, made the pilgrimage to the Grand Canyon Root tor
the film . . . The minute the picture was completed, John Justin
flew back to England to join the Royal Air Force; Basil Bleck,
Korda's counsel and vice-president, went with him on the same
errand . . . You saw Sabu last in another Korda picture, "Drums"
. . . This is Korda's first Hollywood production, though six others
are en route; he is married to Merle Oberon.
THE GREAT DICTATOR
This is unequivocally a great picture. If you grant Charlie
Chaplin the privilege of saying what he wants to, then you
must admit that there is no better way he could have said it.
If the critics had been patient, if they had avoided making up
their minds, if they had avoided writing their opinions in advance,
they would have been thrilled by this truly great and important
movie. Everyone expected a comedy and Charlie crossed them.
He gave them instead a bitter, satiric-comic treatment of a
shocking world phenomena. He starts off with as truly and
vigorously funny an old Chaplin sequence as you can imagine.
It is the end of the first World War, and he is trying desperately
to operate a big Bertha. There's a time transition, it is today,
and Chaplin plays a dual role — a timid little Jewish barber in
Berlin and the great Hinkel (Hitler).
Slowly, as the film progresses, there is less and less comedy
as pathos and bitterness replace the burlesque. There are some
grand satiric scenes — the one where Charlie does a bubble dance
with the globe of the world; the one where Charlie shaves a
man in tempo with Mendelssohn; the one where Charlie and
Jack Oakie (as Mussolini) try to outmaneuver each other in a
grab of another nation, to mention only a few — which are spaced
with ever-widening interruptions from the truly dramatic and
brutal scenes.
And suddenly it seems as though Charlie can't stand it any
longer. He stops all the action. He looks out at the audience,
and there is a six-minute close-up of him (Continued on page 17)
JANUARY, 1941
13
No matter how individ-
ual your guests' tastes
may be, everybody at
your party will find a
favorite fudge in this
four-fold serving with
its different flavors.
Virginia Weidler, who
recently sprang to fame
by her performance in
"The Philadelphia
Story," always includes
red "apples on a stick"
for her young friends.
BY MA ft J OR IE
DEEN
Right in the middle of
your own steam-heated
home, you can have a
snow-bedecked Christ-
mas tree that will last
all the way through the
most gala holiday season.
This promises to be the happiest
Christmas ever for little Virginia
Weidler, not only because it coincides
with the most successful appearance
of her young career, in the role of
Dinah Shore, the bright-eyed effer-
vescent scamp in "The Philadelphia
Story," but also because this will be
her very first Yuletide as a teenster.
This means, of course, that she'll have
lots of extra freedom but no trouble-
some responsibilities. And you will
love to follow her suggestions!
For example, in trimming her tree
this year, Virginia will spend delicious
minutes of indecision over the correct
placing of each and every shiny orna-
ment, because at thirteen you just
can't be haphazard about such things!
With all the freedom of her advanced
years, she intends personally choosing
gift wrappings and gifts for all her
friends and relatives.
Most appreciated of all her newly-
acquired privileges is that of throwing
her own parties. She anticipates an
afternoon orgy of candy-making in
which the most likely candidate for
the young gathering's choice will be
fudge. She also plans to make the
old-fashioned favorites, candied apples
"as good as those they sell in that
place on Hollywood Boulevard." So
I promised her my recipe for these
shiny "apples on a stick" in exchange
for the secret of her favorite fudge.
Other refreshment pets in her crowd
include marshmallows, fashioned into
snow men, to serve as table decora-
tions before they're eaten.
If you'd like to have some of these
treats on hand during the holidays,
for your friends, try the candy recipes
that follow shortly. Then, too, if you
want to have a really distinctive tree
to show them — one that looks for all
the world as if Jack Frost himself had
paid you a visit — top the branches
with what appears to be a coating of
real snow. But the nice part about
this snow is that it will last as long
as the tree. Here's how it's done:
Directions for Making and Using
"Soap-Foam Snow"
Empty the contents of a large (12V2-
oz.) box of Lux flakes into a dishpan
or large mixing bowl. Add 2 scant
cups of lukewarm water. Now take
your rotary egg beater and beat the
'mixture until it is the consistency of
whipped cream. In case you use an
electric mixer, prepare just one half
14
MODERN SCREEN
Take a tip from a 13-
year-old on how to con-
coct a "tasty" Xmas!
the quantity at a time because even
the largest bowl would be likely to
overflow if the full amount were to
be made up at one mixing.
Take handfuls of this "snow" and
spread it with your fingers along the
branches of your Christmas tree. Oc-
casionally put it on in "blobs," as the
effect should be that of a natural and
heavy snowfall.
For a more glittering appearance,
sprinkle on some of the shiny arti-
ficial snowflakes (sold in boxes at
Christmas - tree - decoration counters )
while the mixture is still moist.
All this should be done before you
put the ornaments and lights on the
tree. This soap-foam snow will reflect
the lights delightfully and fewer orna-
ments will be needed. In fact you can
have a really lovely looking tree by
using no decorations other than the
strings of vari- colored electric lights
along with the snow. Probably the
most admired tree in all Hollywood
last year was so easy to carry out that
you can be sure it will be extensively
copied this year by all who saw it.
Strung with a considerable number
of blue bulbs, the soap-foam snow
reflected the soft light and sparkled
from every branch. A large quantity
of those inexpensive little "icicles"
made in silver, and a few larger silver
ornaments were placed on the ends
of branches and in dark spots where
the pine needles were thickest. The
whole effect was set off with a large
lighted star at the very top of the tree.
APPLES ON A STICK
6-8 medium size red apples
6-8 wooden skewers
2 cups sugar
% cup water
4 tablespoons white karo
a few drops red food coloring
Wash apples to remove any oil
coating. Dry thoroughly. Stick skew-
ers into stem end of apples. Combine
in a saucepan the sugar, water and
karo. Cook, stirring constantly, until
sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking,
without stirring, to the hard crack
stage (300°F. on candy thermometer).
Remove from heat, add a few drops of
red vegetable coloring. Hold apples by
the skewers and dip them into syrup,
one at a time, twirling them around
to make sure they are thoroughly
coated. Place on oiled pan or prop up-
right to cool. (Continued on page 81)
BLONDES! these 3
questions settle a vital problem
MRS. HUNTINGTON ASTOR, the former Mrs. Vincent Astor, who devotes much
time to the cause of the Musicians' Emergency Fund, is a lovely ash blonde.
She chooses Pond's Light Natural because it matches her complexion perfectly.
II j
When trying to choose the
right powder shade for your-
self, you need ask yourself only
three questions.
1. Shall I make my skin
fairer?
2. Shall I keep it the same
shade?
3. Shall I deepen its color?
The matter comes down to this:
Do you look your most attrac-
tive when your skin has delicate
baby-pink tones?
Are you lovelier when your skin
has creamy shades that contrast
with the dark lights in your eyes?
Does a warmer, rosier shade
make your face bewitching against
your honey-pale hair?
You will answer "yes" to one
of these questions — and Pond's 3
superlative blonde shades will pro-
vide you with the right shade for
your effect.
A delicate pink shade —
Light Natural — our lightest shade.
It matches the transparent skin of
ash blondes. Pure blondes love it
because it lightens their skin.
A light powder, bat
creamier, with less pink — Rose
Cream (Natural) . The most popu-
lar of the blonde shades because it
tones in so perfectly with the aver-
age blonde skin. Many, very many,
darker blondes use it to add deli-
cacy and lightness to their color-
ing. Red blondes who want to tone
down their color use it to add a
needed creamy glow to their skin.
A warm sunny shade with
a rosy glow over it — Sunlight.
Girls who are not quite sure
whether they are blondes or bru-
nettes find it matches their skin.
Other blondes use it because it
gives warmth. Sophisticated
blondes are particularly fond of
the exotic depth it gives their skin.
Pond's Powders give a smooth-
as-baby-skin finish to your face.
They keep away shine for hours
without givingthat powdered look.
Blondes will find their 3 shades
grouped together on the counter.
And Brunettes will find their 4
brunette shades.
Fmp Write to Pond's, Dept. 9MS-PA, Clinton, Conn.,
and state whether you are a blonde or a brunette—
you will receive generous samples FREE.
Copyright, 1940, Pond's Extract Compart)
JANUARY, 1941
15
Freddie Brisson
wishes Roz Russell
would celebrate a
little less fashion-
ably! Her chic
Lily Dache feather
tickled his eyes
until he saw red
and chucked it in
the checkroom
for the remainder
^ of the dancing!
The stars have a hot time
in the old town Saturday
nights — and here's how!
< Cutting capers with the younger
set, 17-year-old Rita Quigley gets
such a whirl at the Venice Fun
House in Hollywood that she's
reduced to hugging her date's
legs to keep her equilibrium!
< Hollywood folk are
betting two to one that
wedding bells will ring
out soon for Nancy
Kelly and dancing part-
ner, Edmund O'Brien.
While painting the town
red with South American
Reni Rodriguez, "Butch"
Romero showers her with
the same "undivided" atten-
tion he gives all the gals.^
16
MODERN SCREEN
MOVIE . REVIEWS
(Continued from page 13)
while he makes a straight, dramatic ap-
peal to the world for more sanity.
Jack Oakie is topnotch as Mussolini,
Paulette Goddard is swell as the Jewish
girl, Billy Gilbert is excellent as Goebbels
and the late Maurice Moscovich is im-
posing in a character part — but no name
stays with you when you leave the
theatre except that of Chaplin. Which
is as it should be. Directed by Charles
Chaplin. — Chaplin-United Artists.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: It is five years
since Chaplin's last picture, "Modern
Times"; work on this one started early
in 1937 ...It cost a fraction over $2,000,000
to produce this picture, the biggest
amount Chaplin ever spent — and all his
own, too, no collaborators . . . Over 500-
000 feet of film were shot (with a single
camera) and later cut down (by Chaplin)
to 12,000 . . . Chaplin wrote the story and
dialogue, directed, played a dual role,
edited picture and scored the music; it
was completed in 171 days of shooting
time . . . It's the first time he speaks in
a film, but he had considerable speaking
experience on the English stage before
coming to Hollywood 20 years ago . . .
The action in the ballroom dance with
Madame Napaloni and Charlie had to be
stopped time and time again because the
rest of the cast ruined takes with their
laughter . . . The forty or fifty cats in
the Ghetto scene were given a party of
hamburger, fish and milk upon completion
of their "work" . . . practically all shatter-
able glass used in scenes where it had to
be broken was fine sugar cane candy; at
picture's end, the surplus was given to
Los Angeles orphanages . . . Paulette
Goddard inaugurated a golf team, includ-
ing pi op men, actors, electricians and
technicians which played in tournaments
during the filming . . . Charlie includes
the same familiar faces of his friends
whom he always remembers in his pro-
ductions.
***'/2 Knute Roclcne— All
American
This is a frank and humble tribute to
the football coach who has become a
legend throughout America. It is big,
honest and exciting and almost becomes
a history of football. Those interested in
sports will enjoy every second of it; those
who are not, will be entertained by the
dramatics of the man's, life.
Rockne's story is told from the time he
came to this country as a little boy of
four through his slow rise in the field of
sports, and up past the time he was killed
in an airplane accident. It is full of in-
cident and detail, and if the picture has
any real fault it is that there isn't enough
romantic element for you girls. There is
the constant and unflinching love of
Knute and his wife, Bonnie, but that is
straightlined and not very exciting.
You have never seen such a perfect
character portrayal in your life as Pat
O'Brien dishes out in the Rockne role.
He is "the Rock" to the very marrow.
His make-up is astonishingly good but,
more to the point, his mannerisms and
entire delivery seem to be carbon copies
of the coach. There are a number of other
excellent performances, tops being those
of Gale Page as Rockne's wife and widow,
Ronald Reagan as George Gipp, and Don-
ald Crisp as Father John Callahan.
A quick bow, in passing, to those re-
sponsible for the very exciting and real
staging of the football plays; they're A-l.
Directed by Lloyd Bacon. — Warner Bros.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Much of the
film was made on the Notre Dame
campus, including the funeral ceremony
made in Sacred Heart Church, site of the
actual rite. Notre Dame year books were
making their appearance when O'Brien
and the company were on the campus, so
O'Brien autographed approximately 1,000
a day, along with textbooks, hats, letters,
etc. . . . Rights to make the picture were
obtained from the famed football coach's
widow, Bonnie Skiles Rockne; she ap-
proved the script, and personally assisted
in production. All of the family except
Mrs. Rockne got into the picture; Rock's
children, aged 23, 21, 19 and 14, were
among the university students who were
used in some scenes . . . During the film-
ing of the picture Pat O'Brien's fan mail
trebled . . . Robert Buckner, author of the
screen play, used the fruits of two years
research in the story; the wealth of ma-
terial at his disposal necessitated the sign
in his office reading, "Thanks, we're sure
it's true — but we can't put all the Rockne
incidents in one picture."
***'/2 They Knew What They
Wanted
Here is adult entertainment such as the
movies have not dished out in many a
day. Taken from the famous play by the
late Sidney Howard which won a Pulitzer
Prize, this late filmization results in vig-
orous, true drama that you will find
difficult to forget.
There are at least three sterling per-
formances in the leading roles which rank
with the best seen on the screen in many
a moon, but the big news is Charles
Laughton! For the first time in a number
of films he completely dissociates him-
self from his person to turn in a really
gripping characterization — as Tony, the
Italian farmer. Carole Lombard, opposite
Laughton, has a very difficult assignment.
Although she tries very hard she is
simply too intelligent to play the role of
the ignorant little slavey convincingly.
Bill Gargan's been good in small parts
for a long time, but here he has a big
part; and he's terrific!
And so with three such performances,
plus an exciting adult script, plus highly
imaginative direction and good (very
good) photography — the total is an A-l
film even if the finish is mystical and
the final speech is in the wrong person's
mouth.
There are some rough hurdles to man-
age from the moral code standpoint, but
the film is tastefully directed by Garson
Kanin. RKO-Radio.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The company
of 100 spent two weeks in Napa Valley,
550 miles north of Hollywood, filming all
exterior scenes in the exact locale of the
story . . . It was Napa's first glimpse of
film stars in the flesh, and the erstwhile
placid community went overboard with
excitement and hospitality; the chief of
police issued an order that "Anyone
caught annoying our guests for auto-
graphs will be run in"; the company's
train was met at the station by 4,000
(Continued on page 61)
*KATHERINE ALDRIDGE and
BUDDY ROGERS in 20th Cen-
tury-Fox hit, "Golden Hoofs".
Your hands, too, can have soft
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Have Love-Worthy
advises
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FOR SOFT, ADORABLE HANDS
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Name
Street .
City tale .
JANUARY, 1941
17
„. Mlisical, OF OUR BXClTlN"TlETSS SONGS!
18 WG M WS STUBS! CUE** lTS< S°
The "Down Argentine Way"stc
• m0re torchy- ^ore da2zling!
•tin
Allen Jenkins • Esther Ralston
Nicholas Brothers • Ben Carter
Directed by Walter Lang
Associate Producer Kenneth Macgowan . Screen Play
by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan • Based on a story
by Pamela Harris . Dances staged by Seymour Felix
.•■low
by
cVGo
.•The
SYv
l to'6
^ new j-« *W J
to Jf.^6* love
18
MODERN SCREEN
C. KENNETH LOMEN
If you're partial to handsome farmers with
southern accents, you'll love Fred in Para-
mount's "Virginia." It's in Technicolor!
MhnKffW SCREEN
RAT JONES
She's a New York model who gets mixed up
with magic and John Barrymore in Univer-
sale mystery yarn, "The Invisible Woman."
JANUARY, 1941
CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL
[
"BUT, MY DEAR, HAVE YOU HEARD THE LATEST?
No one bat a father eonld write a letter like this!
A romance of over a year's
standing. Olivia and Jimmy
Stewart both love to fly
and play practical jokes.
In 1922, Olivia was chubby
and impish. Joan — always
the frailer of the two — was
sickly and extremely shy.
At 17, Olivia — short on
glamour, but long on am-
bition— was "Puck" in
a high school senior play.
"So you're from Hollywood!" said the elderly man,
pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "And
you want to know about my two daughters? Well, I
haven't seen them for six or seven years. Hollywood,
you know, is a long way from Japan . . . But I'll tell you
what I'll do. I'll give you something new. I've been
wanting to write the girls. Instead, I'll dictate the letter
to you. Would that be an interview?"
"Definitely."
"Then let's begin," said the elderly man, quietly. "Let's
begin the usual way — 'Dearest Olivia and Joan . . .'
This is the letter I've long wanted to write. It came
to me yesterday evening, of a sudden, that sooner or later
I must write it. Because, yesterday evening I was stroll-
ing along the Ginza — you remember the Ginza, Joan —
Tokyo's busiest shopping avenue, with peddlers in glori-
fied bathrobes under canvas booths, selling roasted chest-
nuts and colored kimonos and whatnot.
Well, I was walking along the Ginza, pushing through
a good animated portion of Tokyo's six million souls, when
suddenly I saw it — the billboard in front of the -little
Japanese movie theatre, heralding the stars of the pictures
being shown. One name on the billboard was Olivia de
Olivia was 6 when she whipped
this one off, fancying herself
something of an artist ! She
and Joan sketch well, nowadays.
MODERN SCREEN
errific that our reporter traveled halfway around the world to get it!
Havilland. The other was Joan Fontaine. Both of you,
my daughters, on one program. I paid the 25 sen — 6 cents
in America — and went in.
And there both of you were on the screen. Beautiful!
Exciting! Over a bridge of 5,500 miles you had come to
perform before me. Amazing magic!
Sitting there, I was filled with a nostalgia and flooding
remembrance of things past and done. I wondered, at
once, if either of you — now famous movie stars — remem-
bered your old father in Japan, despite the years that
had intervened.
You may not have kept count, girls, but your father
is now sixty-nine years old, and before it is forever too
late I am sitting here in a fantastic place called Tokyo
and writing to you in an even more fantastic place called
Hollywood — I am writing, by proxy, the letter I haye
long wanted to write.
I want you to know, that while you -may have gotten
your good looks and your flair for the dramatic mostly
from your mother, Lilian — it was from me and from my
old English family that you inherited steadiness, poise,
culture and a few other good qualities.
All that, however, isn't what I started out to say. I
really just want to chat about old times with you. Remi-
niscing, somehow, makes you both seem closer to me.
I remember you, Olivia, my darling, as an infant, lying
flat on your back on the floor, sucking a gigantic hairpin —
which your mother thought was cute, but which gave me
a case of nerves. I remember you (Continued on page 60)
BY IRVLYfi WALLACE
When Joan's mother (left) mar-
ried Mr. Fontaine, Joan took
his name. Last year, Mr. Aherne
ave her a brand new monicker.
Photogenic at 3 months! That's
Joan Fontaine napping in the
arms of her pretty mother,
who's wearing a Japanese kimono.
Olivia (left) and Joan wore
identical clothes for years.
Here, they're off for a Cali-
fornia garden party in 1933.
JANUARY, 1941
A recent picture of Joan's
and Olivia's aging father,
W. A. de Havilland, who is a
patent lawyer in Tokyo, Japan.
25
Mary Astor, survivor of the "sexy silents,"
traces fashions in kisses right np to today!
WOW LOVE HAS CHANGED !
It all started because a trip to New York is like a trip
to the hospital. When you come home, you like to talk
about your experiences. That was what Mary Astor — still
recuperating from three whirlwind weeks in New York —
was doing.
"The Museum of Modern Art called me up one day," she
was saying, "and asked me if I wouldn't like to see one of
my old pictures. I was not only flattered; I was delighted.
They have a marvelous library of old films, the most com-
plete in the world. I asked, hopefully, 'Do you have a print
of "Beau Brummel?' " They said they did. So I dropped
everything else and rushed over to have a nostalgic look at
my favorite of all the pictures I had ever made."
She puckered up her face in mock dismay at Mary Astor,
Sentimentalist.
"Do you remember 'Beau Brummel?' " It was considered
really something in its day. John Barrymore was the star
and I was the leading lady, and the love scenes were
supposed to be some of the most beautiful ever filmed. A
little tingle went up my spine at the thought of seeing
them again.
"So I saw them again. And I don't know when I've
been so embarrassed. Thoroughly, excruciatingly embar-
rassed. It taught me a lesson. Never again will I go back
and try to relive a memory.
"The print was in perfect condition. That was the agon-
izing thing. I couldn't kid myself that the picture must
have been different once. It was just the same as when it
was made. All I could say. to myself, as I sat there in the
merciful darkness watching it unreel, was: 'How did people
ever go for this?'
"Just to give you an idea, let me tell you about one
scene that once thrilled millions. John took my hand in
both of his. One by one, gently, tenderly — oh, so tenderly
—he uncurled my fingers. Then, looking deep in my eyes,
he said, in a subtitle, 'I place my heart in the palm of your
little hand.' "
Mary closed her eyes in reminiscence and shuddered.
"How love has changed!" she said, feelingly.
Was she insinuating that movie love "ain't what it used
to be?"
She tossed her head back in a short laugh. "I'm not
only insinuating it," she said. "I'm stating it as a fact.
I've seen it change."
This sounded like something that the chroniclers of
Hollywood have missed; something that future historians
would want to know about; and something that everybody
else might find instructive. So I pursued the subject.
Mary protested that she wasn't the only actress in
Hollywood who could talk about it. But she was just being
modest. There's no other top-flight actress in Hollywood
today whose movie experiences have covered as much
romantic territory, or go back as far as Mary Astor's.
BY JAMES REID
You wouldn't think it to look at her, minus make-up,
wearing a simple sports dress, but Mary Astor has been
in the movies twenty years!
That makes her sound ancient. She isn't. On her last
birthday (May 3rd) she was thirty-four. She is a con-
temporary of Claudette Colbert, Greta Garbo, Carole Lom-
bard, Myrna Loy, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford and
sundry other big names. She simply started earlier than
they did — when she was fourteen.
She was born with the non-marquee name of Lucile
Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois, the daughter of a high
school language professor. She finished grammar school
in Quincy, then was packed off to the Kenwood-Loring
School for Girls in Chicago, to get the finishing touches:
Instead, she got a movie contract.
The school had a reputation for pretty girls, which made
Mary's cameo-like features a matter of school pride. The
other girls begged her to enter a certain beauty contest.
She didn't have the nerve. So they sent in a picture of
her and it won first prize. Publication of it brought dis-
covery by Jesse Lasky. And, suddenly, she was in the
movies — a schoolgirl barely in her teens who hadn't
stopped growing yet.
She didn't look like a schoolgirl, however, any more than
she looks like the mother of an eight-year-old today.
There was, and still is, a curious ageless quality in her
face. Between scenes she had to attend regular classes on
the set, but they didn't give her child roles to play. They
gave her grown-up roles.
She doesn't try to cover up the fact that she has been
in films so long. She told me, with a candid smile, "I always
say I started in 1920, but actually I didn't get on the screen
until 1921. Nothing I did in 1920 ever came out. I played
a bit in 'Sentimental Tommy,' which was scissored, and
I made a one-reeler which was never released. I strongly
suspect that I wasn't sensational.
"My first appearance on any screen was in the feminine
lead of a picture called 'The Beggar Maid,' opposite Reg-
inald Denny. The very title dates it. Can you imagine
anybody making or going to see a picture with such a
title today?
"That was the first time I was ever kissed by a man —
either on the screen or off. I was fifteen years old, and it
was quite an event. I didn't sleep for two nights before
the scene. All I could think of was: 'He's going to kiss
me.' And every time I thought of it I had terrific palpi-
tations. I was terribly nervous— and terribly eager.
"What made me so nervous was the fact that I was
supposed to be shy in the scene, and I was afraid the
camera would give me away and reveal that I had a
violent crush on Reggie. That crush lasted at least a week,
with the kiss somewhere in the middle of it. Reggie spent
most of that week running. He (Continued on page 63)
MODERN SCREEN
The Hays office came into
existence in 1922, and films
were pure for a while. By
1932, vigilance had relaxed
and clinches like this one
from "Red Dust" (Clark
Gable and Mary Astor) got
by. A year later a terrific-
wave of censorship set in.
27
Fl IN F1LHV1LLE
o *at
c->t*- .
M.tva ls0{t, sVl" to
MODERN SCREEN
Chariot's All-Star Revue won't make history, but it
did make its all-star audience mighty happy!
The "Cads' Chorus," composed of ten
actors with senses of humor, always
brought down the house as, grim-faced,
they extolled their vices in verse.
Even the Charles Boyers, upset
by news that their French cha-
teau had been bombed, were
grinning broadly before long.
June Clyde's hilarious attempts
to "get familiar" with dead pan
Mischa Auer drew the biggest
guffaws of the entire evening!
lita Hayworth, who danced pro-
ssionally for years, led the La
Conga becomingly clad in the Re-
vue's most revealing costume.
Small wonder Nick Grinde's jaw is
dropping. That sequin-studded
gown on cute Marie Wilson is
definitely an eye-knocker-outer !
British-born Binnie Barnes played
hooky from her honeymoon long
enough to accompany countryman
Alan Mowbray to the Revue.
|Janet Gaynor (gown by Adrian)
|j"id her designing hubby take a
pare night off from pampering
jtneir six-month-old son Robin.
When not doing their song 'n'
dance act, Bonita Granville and
Jackie Cooper held hands back
in the next to the last row.
L
JANUARY, 1941
Ten percenter Vic Orsatti squired
two lovelies, Betty Grable and
Linda Darnell. This agent stuff
is nice work if you can afford it!
PHOTOS BY .IIJLES BUCK
29
When the super Cooper gives out
on life, love and the pursuit of
happiness, he's worth listening to!
It seems that in his quiet way, with the least amount of
fuss, he gets just what he wants out of life. That's what
they say about Gary.
Why, they have even circulated the rumor that he is
deaf in order to account for his reticence and of seeming
to hear very little of what other people say. Others report
that he pretends not to hear in order to protect himself
from answering questions he doesn't want to answer.
During the making of Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe,"
Barbara Stanwyck, co-starring with Gary, said of him:
"Don't fool yourself; he's a fox, that one! He sees more,
hears more and knows more than anyone else in this
business."
Hollywood, however, must have its legends. And Gary is
by way of being one of them. Along with Garbo, the
Sphinx, Hepburn, the Firebrand and Ginger Rogers, the
Recluse, Gary is labeled the Strong, Silent Man. But
strangely enough his silences are not construed as un-
friendliness. His reticence is not pooh-poohed as an "act,"
put on because of a swollen head or an unwillingness to
cooperate. By some sound instinct, everyone seems to
understand that he is simply not the "Hi-ya" type of indi-
vidual and they try to bother him as little as possible.
But though they understand Gary, the man, they don't
understand how, with so little pother and ado, so little
throwing about of weight, he has gotten where he is, with-
out anyone being particularly conscious that he was getting
up there.
Now, I've always found that the shortest distance be-
tween two points is the straight line, conversationally as
well as geometrically. It seemed to me that the way to
find out Gary's formula for success was to ask him. So,
lunching with Gary at Lucey's in Hollywood the other day,
I took my courage into my bare hands and did just that.
His blue eyes were twinkling as he launched his answers:
"As for not talking much — well, I don't kid myself. If I
weren't a movie star, I wouldn't be asked out for my
scintillating conversation! I try, Lord knows, though I'm
not very good at it, to hold up my end of the stick. But
a glib talker is a person with a special aptitude or gift,
and I haven't that gift. If I think I have anything to say
which will contribute to enjoyment or interest, I say it.
But if others have more interesting things to say than I
have, I keep quiet. I don't 'assume' reticence or silence.
I don't pretend to be deaf in order not to hear things.
When you are among friends, I don't believe you should
assume a part or a pose; that comes under the heading
of being pretty phony. The only time I assume a part,"
smiled Gary, "is when I am on a sound stage, at work.
"As for avoiding publicity, I may have frozen up at some
silly questions asked me from time to time. Then, too,
certain personalities click, you know, and others don't.
I have to feel comfortable when I'm talking with someone.
If I'm uncomfortable, I'm not very adequate. Every busi-
ness is salesmanship, one way or another. I have to sell
acting. An interviewer has to sell the idea of doing a
story. I guess you might say that if it's good salesmanship,
I buy; if it's not, I don't. On some occasions, too, I've
gotten off a plane or train dirty and tired and ducked the
cameramen. I guess that was partly out of vanity," laughed
Gary, "and partly out of respect for 'my Public' who,
I'm told, likes its stars to look 'glamorous.' But," he
added, with emphasis, "I enjoy making public appearances
when I'm prepared for them. I like going to out-of-town
premieres, as we recently did with 'The Westerner.' We
had a wonderful time. The people in Texas are swell. Real
people. I like all that sort of thing. It's a pleasure to have
people say 'hullo' to me, call me by my first name. A
fine, friendly feeling. I like it.
"No, I haven't any special secret or formula for living
or for success. Something Will Rogers once said, slightly
altered, may apply to me, however. Will said, 'I'm just an
old country boy. I have been eating pretty regular and
the reason I have is because I stayed an old country boy.'
Well, I was a Montana cowboy," smiled Gary, "and I have
been eating pretty regular, too, and I think it's because
I've stayed a Montana cowboy at heart. The things I like
to do are still pretty simple, fundamental things, thank
God! I like to get out in the hills, out in the Rockies
somewhere. After 'John Doe' was in the box, my wife
and baby and I went to Idaho for a hunting and camping
trip. I don't do much hunting, really; just shoot a few
ducks and things, enough to eat. I just like to be outdoors,
get on a horse and ride.
"I've got everything I want in life; yes, I'm perfectly
happy and contented. But I'm also very fortunate because
the things I like to do and the things I want to have are
the simple, easily obtainable ones. For example, when
I'm home Rocky and I usually play a few sets of tennis
before dinner; that gives me a workout. We keep a couple
of saddle horses on a ranch a half hour's drive from our
house. We go up there and ride in the hills. Once in a
while we go to a night club. I like to dance," admitted
Gary, sheepishly. "Very often we have our friends in for
dinner — Ty Power and Annabella, the George Murphys and
the Fred MacMurrays. We just sit around and gab. The
point is, if a man wants only the things he can have, then
he's certainly got everything. (Continued on page 78)
Jnuary, 1941
31
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32
MODERN SC
Out of sight, out of mind? Not in Dick Greene's and Ginny Field's case!
Here's one pair of long-distance romancers who aren't drifting apart
Dennis grins like an Irish-
man, but when he talks
it's strictly sans blarney.
He's one of the most sin-
cere people in Hollywood.
BY WILLIAM
ROBERTS
You amateur Columhuses discovered him cinematieally ages ago, but
Up to two years ago, Hollywood couldn't see that Den-
nis Morgan was a large order of he-man — even if he did
know the difference between an aria and an oratorio.
Now, everybody is beginning to see it. Warners, particu-
larly, has had an eyeful. They sent a photographer out
to Dennis' house to give the girls an idea of how he looked
around home, in a pair of shorts, and had to kill the pic-
tures. He looked too muscular.
It would seem, however, that the girls are already con-
vinced of his appeal from seeing him, fully clothed, on
the screen.
They seem to have noticed him even though, up to
now, his screen appearances have been confined largely
to B's. That state of affairs is likely to be altered by
"Kitty Foyle" — for which RKO borrowed him to play
Ginger Rogers' lover. And please be advised that there
is more love story in the picture than there was in the
book!
Funny thing about Dennis — everybody thinks he's an
Irishman.
"I think Warners must have picked my name out of a
hat," he says, with a broad grin, "because I'm about as
Irish as chop suey. My father is Swedish and my mother
is a mixture of Scotch and Dutch."
It's just possible that Warners didn't pick the name out
of a hat, but decided deliberately that anybody with his
infectious grin, brown hair and mischievous blue eyes
ought to be Irish even if he wasn't.
He signs his checks "Stanley Morner." That's the name
he was born with, on December 20, 1910, in Prentice,
Wisconsin — about 40 miles from Lake Superior, in the
North Woods country.
He was supposed to grow up to be a banker and lumber-
man like his father, and very nearly did. Only two
things stopped him. The depression and a love of singing,
inherited from his mother.
"She wasn't a professional, but she liked to sing in the
church choir, and so did I," he says. "I was a boy soprano,"
he adds, just to get a rise out of you.
He can't remember a time when he didn't feel like sing-
ing. Except maybe the day he and another eleven-year-
old decided to run away from home. They clambered
aboard a freight train parked on a siding. In the dark
box-car, they discovered a bum. A lecturing bum. He
lectured them about home and mother. They got off dis-
illusioned about the joys of associating with the Knights
of the Open Road and convinced that parents were
preferable.
"Besides singing in church," Dennis recounts, "I was
in all the amateur theatricals that came along, especially
after we moved to Marshfield, where I finished high school.
But I didn't think about singing or acting as a life work.
.34
MODERN SCREEN
i
make violent love for the camera's
benefit in "Kitty Foyle," but off the
set confine themselves to casual chats
over a couple of commissary Pepsis.
here, at long last, is your chance for that personal introduction !
Somehow, you don't when you're that age. They're just
things you like to do. Like playing football.
"I was a little over six feet tall then, so they made me
center on the football team. That led to my getting a
scholarship to play football at the University of Wisconsin.
But I didn't like the set-up, so I switched to Carroll Col-
lege. I intended to stay just a year; instead I stayed four —
mostly because of the excellent drama department. The
person who got me interested in dramatics was a teacher
named May N. Rankin — who had the same effect on
Alfred Lunt when he went there." He adds, in a hurry,
"Not that I've turned out to be another Alfred Lunt."
Carroll also had a good music department — and a voice
teacher who wanted him to quit athletics and really con-
centrate on singing. "I couldn't see it. I wasn't going to
make singing a career. I sang just for the love of it. I
was satisfied singing with the glee club and partially pay-
ing my way through college, singing in churches."
He had a big football ambition, however — to graduate
from the line to the backfield. He wanted to be a fullback
and carry the ball. The only trouble was he couldn't hang
onto it.
"I used to spend my summers in my dad's lumber camps
in northern Wisconsin, getting in shape, while I learned
the lumber business from the ground up. I chopped trees,
sawed trees, blew out stumps and had fights every Satur-
day night with tough Swedes. One summer a pal of mine,
who played football at Northwestern, went up to one of
the camps with me, and I practised catching that ball and
hanging onto it. Then, in the very first scrimmage that
fall, I fumbled the first ball that was thrown to me —
without even being tackled. The coach decided I'd be
more valuable as a tackle and running guard. Dropping
players, instead of footballs."
Under questioning, he says he "probably" fell in love
several times during those four years. "Everybody does.
But I ended up by marrying the girl I had gone with in
high school — Lillian Vedder."
When the four years were over, he received a certificate
in dramatics, in which he had minored. But he didn't re-
ceive a degree in economics, in which he had majored.
He was short three hours of science. "And I'm still short
those three hours. I never went back."
When he got out of school, he was invited to join four
other ex-college singers on a Chautauqua tour in a con-
densed version of "Faust."
"I didn't think of that as a job," he says. "It was just
a sort of lark. Sixty consecutive one-night stands, spread
all over the Middle West, with most of the towns we
played about 125 miles apart, and with everybody singing
about three or four roles.
"When the tour ended, I said, (Continued on page 82)
JANUARY, 1941
35
You've heard before this that Bette Davis is beloved
of the press. One reason is that, given a job on Bette, you
don't have to play true-and-false games with yourself. Her
method is simple — so simple that you wonder it hasn't been
discovered by others, who prefer to scream over mis-
statements than to supply facts. Maybe because they can
make more noise that way! With Bette, you ask the
questions and she gives you the answers.
Current rumors concerning her are three: She's at
odds with her studio — the old reliable that crops up every
now and then like the sea monster of Loch Ness; she's
feuding with Ida Lupino, because Ida Lupino played Bette
Davis in "They Drive By Night," and she's in love with
Bob Taplinger, publicity executive at Warners.
Bette sat on the sofa of a New York hotel, hands linked
behind her head, and hooted at all three. She'd come down
from New Hampshire for a week to see plays and people,
and her mood seemed as blithe as the Roman-striped trou-
sers of the pajamas she wore.
"Shall I answer them in order, as put, or skip around for
the fun of it? As put. Okay. Then for once in my life
I can honestly say that there's no dissension at the studio.
Which, for me, should be news. Everything's lovely be-
tween me and Warner Brothers. I liked 'The Letter.'
I liked wearing short skirts. I'd been carrying fifty pounds
of fabric around for a year and barely recognized my legs
in modern clothes. I also like 'January Heights,' which
I'm to do next. There's been some talk of 'Calamity Jane,'
which I politely trust I shall not do. In any case, I'm being
loaned to Mr. Goldwyn after 'January Heights,' for 'The
Little Foxes.' In view of which blessing, I'm at peace with
the world.
"Next? Feud with Miss Lupino. I stand lost in admira-
tion for whoever dreamed that one up, since I've never
met Miss Lupino. Or am I supposed to be boxing with
her shadow? Neither have I seen 'They Drive By Night,'
because I've been buried in New Hampshire for three
months. I hear it's a swell picture and a swell performance,
and I'm going to catch it, first chance I get. I . also hope
to meet Miss Lupino, and this is what I'd tell her if the
subject came up.
"When I worked in 'The Man Who Played God,' Mr.
Arliss insisted that I put my hair up. It was so short that
the only way I could put it up was thus-and-so, which
happened to be the way Constance Bennett was doing her
hair at the time. I soon learned to my horror that I was
supposed to be imitating Miss Bennett— the last thing that
had ever entered my head!
"I don't know whether this talk bothers Miss Lupino
as the other bothered me for a while. Till a friend said:
'Forget it. You've just one thing to worry about. Get in
there and slug. Make every performance the best you're
capable of. The rest is incidental. Today they say you're
aping Miss Bennett. Next year they may say somebody's
aping you. None of that matters. The industry will absorb
as many of you as are worth your salt. Only one thing
will keep you in — performance. Only one thing will jolt
you out — lack of performance.' Well, all that sounded like
good sense to me then and still does. Miss Lupino's good
work won't make mine bad, and turn about, if I may say
so. — Sorry." She smiled affably. "I know a hair-pulling
match would make better copy."
Which brought us around to Bob Taplinger. Bette's
smile deepened. "I hate to do this to you, but Bob and I
are just good friends. There is such a thing as being good
friends, you know, and since that's what we are and all
we are, what else can I do but hand you a chestnut? Tell
you what, though." Her hands went behind her head
again. "I'll bend my mind toward coining a phrase that
means the same thing but sounds different. I'll have it all
ready for you next time you ask — say, twelve months from
now?" she suggested sweetly.
So you've put your questions and been given your
answers, and you're stuck with a lot of space to fill.
"Look," says Bette. "I'm not battling with Warners; I'm
not biting chunks out of Ida Lupino; I'm not falling in love.
But that doesn't mean I'm exclusively negative. Why don't
you ask me what I have been doing?"
"What?" you inquire helpfully. (This kind of thing is
known as a lazy man's interview, with the other fellow
doing all the work. It happens infrequently.)
Among other things, she's been doing what most of us
have been doing — feeling helpless and horrified over the
state of the world. Newspaper men would come on the
set where she was working with (Continued on page 70)
For months now it's looked as if Bette and Bob Taplinger
were Romeo and Juliet-ing. Here, at last, is the real low-down !
But in completely squelching this year's crop of lurid rumors.
Bette Davis quite unwittingly starts some bigger and better ones!
37
©IV THE SET WITH
Cast and crew frolic when the movie camera's back is turned!
In 1807, Mr. Noah Webster penned his famous dic-
tionary and defined "flotsam" as "objects cast from a
vessel and found floating on the sea." In 1939, Mr. Erich
Maria Remarque penned a novel about Europe's political
refugees and, with a nod toward Mr. Webster, entitled it —
"Flotsam." Today Mr. Remarque is stealing the jump on
Mr. Webster and is watching his book acquire thrilling
celluloid life as the maiden production of the Loew-Lewin
Corporation.
Despite its uncheery title and its tragic inspiration,
"Flotsam," surprisingly, is not another movie preachment
against the evils of Nazi-ism! Instead, it's a punchy tale
.of high adventure and rich friendships, with the refugee
situation serving merely as a back-drop for the love
affairs of its principals. Surprisingly, too, it's not being
filmed on a handful of sorry-looking, sets, but is actually
employing more sets than "Gone With The Wind!" Since
its main characters migrate from Austria, through Czecho-
slovakia and Switzerland, to France, over a hundred and
twenty backgrounds are required to keep up with their
travels!
Varying from vegetable markets to circus tents, these
backgrounds even include a movie-style Swiss forest
(birch bark and leaves pinned to several hundred local
trees), the snow-blanketed Alps (the High Sierras, 150
miles outside of Hollywood, which look more like an
American's idea of Switzerland than Switzerland itself)
and a reproduction of the Prater, known in pre-Nazi days
as the "Coney Island of Vienna."
Of all sets, it was the Prater which gave Director John
Cromwell his worst moments. Built on an indoor stage,
it had to be bathed in klieg lights to give the illusion of
daylight — and klieg lights, if there are enough of them,
can be hotter than a thousand hells. In this case, there
This is Glenn Ford — definitely
not a pretty boy but, never-
theless, dynamite with dames.
He's six feet two, weighs 165
pounds, has gray eyes and red-
brown hair. Used to be a para-
chute jumper, but has been in
"the profession" since 1938,
when he understudied John Beal
in a flop called "Soliloquy."
Though his part in "Flotsam"
is as important as Fredric
March's, he's still working for
peanuts, and has to stick pretty
close to a budget. Has but one
extravagance, his hopped-up
racer, in which he hits the local
salt flats at 140 miles an hour.
His studio's forbidden him to
drive it until the film's finished.
He got the thrill of his life
when he recently received his
first fan letter! He'd just
about given up hope of ever
getting one. having gone fan-
lessly through 150 plays and
eight movies. It was a role in
"The Lady in Question" that
fished him out of obscurity and
started a huge influx of mail.
38
MODERN SCREEN
"Flotsam's" crew watches
Director Cromwell (left,
sitting) put Fred March in
the mood for a big scene.
were enough of them. As a result, some seals needed for one
particular scene spent five hours barking for relief (or their
mates), the leaves on the Prater's phony trees kept wilting
and fresh ones had to be tacked on before each "take" and, most
exasperating, the melting performers, sometimes as many as
thirty-five at a clip, sneaked off to Fredric March's elegant air-
cooled dressing-room to become literal refugees from an inferno-
like sound stage!
Item most worth noting about "Flotsam," however, is that,
although it stars such film biggies as Fredric March, Margaret
Sullavan and Frances Dee, it also offers a break to a pair of
players who previously have been shoved into the background.
Player Number One is "Sally," a sharp, little wire-haired terrier,
for years the unsung stand-in for "Asta" of "Thin Man" fame.
Player Number Two is Glenn Ford, a clean-cut, snub-nosed
youngster cast as the romantic lead opposite Miss Sullavan,
and introduced in the pictures on this and the foregoing page.
BY SYLVIA KAHN
Fred forgets the serious
stuff for a while, dons
prop pigtails and eats
ice cream with Fran Dee.
He's in constant "dutch" with
his bosses, because he spurns
all studio dates. Only has eyes
for a certain little blonde sec-
retary, and admits he's going
''almost steady." He phones her
nightly. Won't divulge her
name, for her family frowns on
actors and would bounce him
if he gave her any publicity.
Glenn's an early-to-bedder. He
loathes night spots, and his idea
of a big time is an evening of
Chinese checkers with "his
girl." Has no movie friends
except Bill Holden and they
double-date on Saturday nights.
Week nights, he studies lines
with his mother, with whom he
lives in a three-room apartment.
After doing
tricky juggling
scene for "Flot-
sam," Philip Van
Sandt electrifies
Glenn Ford with
some more stunts.
Frances has been waiting
months for a good role
like this one of March's
wife. Fred, by the way,
discovered Fran in 1930.
JANUARY, 1941
IT'S ALL OVER
How did the Stars behave daring the
FINEST ACTOR
FINEST ACTRESS
GREATEST FUTURES
Charles Laughton for his
Tony in "They Knew
What They Wanted."
Greer Garson for her in-
terpretation of Elizabeth
in "Pride and Prej udice."
Versatile Betty Field
made the headlines in
all four of her movies.
Lovable Tom Mitchell
matched his 1939 Award-
winning performance.
BEST DIRECTOR FIND OF THE YEAR
FINEST SUPPORTING PLAYERS
John Ford for his latest
masterpiece — "T he
Long Voyage Home."
Wistful Martha Scott for
her fine screen perform-
ance in "Our Town."
Ida Lupino for that
magnificent emoting in
"They Drive by Night."
William Gargan for his
realism in "They Knew
What They Wanted."
BEST PICTURES OF 1940
The Long Voyage Home (John Ford)
Our Town (Sol Lesser)
Arise, My Love (Paramount)
Rebecca (Selznick)
The Grapes of Wrath (20th Century-Fox)
Foreign Correspondent (Walter Wanger)
The Mortal Storm (M-G-M)
All This, and Heaven Too (Warner's)
They Knew What They Wanted (RKO-Radio)
Waterloo Bridge (M-G-M)
Three Faces West (Republic)
Abraham Lincoln in Illinois (RKO-Radio)
BY WOLFE KAUFMAN
BUT THE SHOr TIM.
year I if i O. and just where are they heading?
When future film historians go through the books, and
count up the scores, they will probably give the year 1940
a once-over lightly and pass on to years with more meat,
more action. Nothing much happened. There were labor
conditions which shook the industry; there was a war
which changed the business completely; some of the best
films of all times were made; the industry's number one
prodigy, Shirley Temple, was fired; the industry's number
one character player, Paul Muni, switched studios — but
nothing much happened. Things were quiet.
One thing you can be sure of. The year coming up,
1941, will afford much more excitement, from a Hollywood
standpoint. It must. Because, in spite of the fact that
Hollywood is simply a timid little community in which
30,000 people earn a living by working for the movies, the
general public throughout America likes to cling to its
notion of Hollywood as the center of the world's gossip
and scandal. And that's where Hollywood fell down badly
during 1940 — there wasn't a single major scandal. Poor,
poor Hollywood. It has grown too* respectable.
Well, don't worry, world, there are some nice, juicy
scandals on the way. Mind you, everyone is trying hard
to avert them, but chances are that you will be hearing
in the very near future about the strange escapades of at
least two of your famous movie stars, both of which have
a good chance of landing in all the newspapers in all the
countries of the world!
But enough of prognostication. Instead, let's take a
glance back.
Well, Margaret Sulla van had a good year, George Brent
had some swell pictures and Pat O'Brien had a poor year,
ending up in a cloud of glory. Lucky boy, Pat. He wasn't
getting very many good parts; he was too thoroughly typed
(has been for years, of course) and was just about ready
for a slide, when Warners came along with an idea for a
two-reel short subject based on the life of Knute Rockne.
Would Pat play the part? Pat said sure so fast that every-
one at the studio wondered — but when he got through
telling the bosses what he intended to do with the part,
and how the story ought to be handled, they boosted the
budget from $40,000 to $700,000 and the footage from two
reels to eight. The result is "Knute Rockne — All
American," one of the top Warner pictures of the year,
and the high point of Pat's acting career. Lucky lad, Pat.
Or is it luck?
Barbara Stanwyck, too, had a very swell year, winding
up with the best assignment of her life, the femme lead in
Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe," which won't be seen
until 1941. Incidentally, the old saw about ill winds might
come out of the mothballs here, but in reverse. Capra first
asked for Ann Sheridan for the part. The Warners took
the matter under advisement, but said nothing. So Capra
hunted up Barbara. And several months later, when a new
contract for Sheridan came up for discussion, she balked
and argued and drew a suspension, with the Warners com-
pletely surprised and not knowing to this day what it was
that was eating their little Annie. She was simply heart-
broken at not getting the chance.
Tony Martin had wife trouble on one hand and studio
trouble on the other. He couldn't get any pictures that
suited him — if such there be^-and decided to quit Holly-
wood. He went out on the road in a series of personal
appearances and broke world records from here to there.
Metro was so impressed, it grabbed him for another film
try. The lad has fans, no doubt of that, but Metro will
find that tailoring vehicles for him is certainly no cinch.
Joan Bennett became Mrs. Walter Wanger and starred
in three pictures, two of which were good. Charles
Laughton had a horrible year and had the skids all greased
for him until "They Knew What They Wanted" put him
back on top, stronger than ever. Charles' trouble seems
to be that he isn't satisfied with acting alone; he wants to
direct, too. You can't do it, Charles, old man — but you're
a magnificent actor under the proper direction.
Fred Astaire struggled hard for a comeback, but didn't
find the proper vehicles. Eleanor Powell was getting along
swell until she fell seriously ill.
Carole Lombard is suffering from a serious problem —
she's tired of being a zany and wants to really act. The
old Hamlet motif, remember? "Vigil In the Night" turned
out to be a problem child and "They Knew What They
Wanted" was bad casting — although she does the best
acting of her life in it. A tough year, so come on back
to comedies, honey — we love 'em.
Anne Shirley got a break in "Saturday's Children," after
Olivia de Havilland had turned it down. She impressed
nicely in this, but hasn't consolidated these gains as yet.
She may go places next year if she gets some good parts.
Mae West is definitely out for the moment, largely
through a failure to change pace. She still has a big fan
following, but the picture she made with W. C. Fields,
"My Little Chickadee," did Fields a lot of good, but not
Mae. Looks like a rest for a couple of years, unless some
especially good vehicle shows up, of course.
Victor McLaglen had one of his very poorest years. Jon
Hall is having a tough climb up the ladder, but is doing
very nicely; he's worth watching. Frances Farmer tried
again, in two pictures, after a spell of New York and legit.
No dice. She still looks terrific and acts magnificently, but
just won't bother watching her diction and mechanics.
Greer Garson, the most patient of them all, finally picked
up "Pride and Prejudice" on a rebound from a Shearer
rejection. A swell break for Greer, and it may win her
the Academy Award for acting. Laurence Olivier did very
well and is distinctly in the ascendant. He should be a
top movie star in 1941, if he doesn't march off to war.
Errol Flynn continued swashbuckling his way through
life and films, and had his usual swell year.
Anna Neagle firmly established herself among the
American public's favorites. Her director-producer, Her-
bert Wilcox, brought her to Hollywood for one film. The
war trapped them here and both have remained, while
Anna caught on nicely.
Ann Sothern had the best year of her career, largely
because she happened to be standing there as the "Maisie"
bus came by. It turned out to be a perfect fit for her and,
after several years of trying to find a spot, she is in —
but solid.
Brian Aherne got stronger as the year went along, with
the most diversified list of characterizations in his life,
running the gamut from deep emotional roles to down-
right comedy.
Rita Hay^worth had a pleasant year and seems to have
been hit by a hunk of luck-lightning just as the year
waned. She'll owe her big break (if it turns out to be a
break, as it should) to Ann Sheridan, who balked on the
"Strawberry Blonde" assignment, giving Rita a chance
to pick up the script.
Clark Gable romped merrily through another okay year,
and Spencer Tracy was probably (Continued on page 65)
41
'Twas a happy day for Lew
when he graduated cine-
matically from collegiate
roles to a full-fledged M.D.
Lew Ayres, who flashed to a meteoric success ex-
actly ten years ago, slid into a decline and then popped
back into circulation, swears it wasn't done with mir-
rors. The comeback which has catapulted him higher
than he ever rose in his three previous careers in
pictures has a definite logic and pattern to it.
He told us all about it over a Hollywood breakfast
in his chalet perched high on top of Lookout Mountain.
Over wondrous coffee and the most incredible blue-
berry muffins, Lew launched his explanation of an
astonishing comeback which has ended in a^ seven-
year contract with Metro.
"As a kid in my late teens I did a trick at Pathe
and got canned just when I thought I was going good.
I was all set to forget this brief fling in the movies
when the late Paul Bern, then a director for Metro,
showed Garbo a test I had made. Thanks to this kind
gesture, I landed the young romantic lead in "The
A?
BY JOHN FRANCHEY
Kiss," opposite Garbo. There was no doubt about it.
I was on my way. Not long afterward, I managed to
bag the part of the bewildered young soldier, ignorant
of what he's fighting for, in "All Quiet on the Western
Front." The picture was a sensation. The gilded era
for Ayres was ushered in.
"But it didn't linger. Worse than that, I realized
all of a sudden that I had hit the toboggan, that I was
playing in B pictures and contributing nothing star-
tling even to these innocent numbers.
"Then I got sort of frantic. And the harder I fought,
the faster I slipped. The faster I slipped, the harder
I worried. I got myself ii to such a turmoil that I
wasn't much good to anybody, including myself. At
which point I took time out to study my case quietly,
and I finally arrived at a conclusion: I was pushing
success, and that's a losing game.
"I shrugged, made an about-face and decided that
MODERN SCREEN
ocxon
long siege of career-
Lew Ayres took a
is own medicine and
peetacular recovery !
if I had anything on the ball, the right chance was bound
to come along. If not, what good would it do hurrying
myself into high blood pressure and a case of acute
despondency?
"Whereupon I proceeded to forget pictures entirely and
to devote myself to picking up neglected interests. I found
they were countless — and diverting, too. As a youngster,
I had always been interested in astronomy, so I rigged
up a homemade telescope. Always a sucker for that upper
corner of the front page of a newspaper which predicts
'fair and warmer' or 'cloudy with showers,' I set up an
amateur weather bureau. I had a helluva lot of fun.
"But eventually I woke up to the fact that my bank
balance was getting low and not a nickel was coming in.
I had almost hit bottom when Metro up and offered me a
test for the character part of Henry in 'Rich Man, Poor
Girl.' Did I snap it up? Of course I did. And it turned
out to be a real characterization and not one of those sappy
college boys I had been playing, varied on occasions by
an Ayres portrait of a baby-faced gangster."
It seems that at this point, just when the Ayres "stock
began to go up on the Hollywood exchange, Metro decided
to do a little epic all about an idealistic young interne and
a cantankerous old sawbones of a professor hiding a heart
of gold beneath his rough exterior. Offered the interne's
part, Lew brooded over it and shook his head doubtfully.
He finally left it up to a coin. Heads he'd play it, tails he
wouldn't.
Heads it was.
Well, when the opus left the cutting room it was defi-
nitely on its own. It received neither a God-bless-you
from Lew Ayres nor the customary publicity fanfare from
the studio. Just another movie — that's all it' was.
As it happened the unpretentious film, the first directing
job of Harold Bucquet for Metro, caught on. In fact it
received such a rousing reception everywhere that the
startled Metro magnificoes decided to do a series. The
picture — you guessed it — was "Young Dr. Kildare."
Today, riding higher than ever, Lew Ayres of the wist-
ful expression and youthful appearance is grateful for the
public's sudden interest in medicine. He's thanking his
lucky stars for the overnight discovery by film-goers that
there's drama in fighting death and romance in the white-
coated man with the stethoscope.
One of Hollywood's most unique characters, he's no more
the typical glamour boy in his ways and means than he is
professor of Egyptology at Oxford University. Not that the
subject of Egyptology would pall on him!
Anything but! "For Lew Ayres, the man who was once
married to Ginger Rogers' and Lola Lane, has one of the
most curious minds in Hollywood. He's fascinated by every
subject imaginable — skirts cut on the bias and Aztec
architecture, geology and photography, meteorology and
dancing.
He's, passionately fond of music— the living room of his
home is evidence enough of that. Two huge record shelves
are teeming with albums of classical music — symphonies,
concertos, tone poems and what have you. Then there's a
miniature organ which he plays at all hours of the night if
he feels like it, and eater-cornered across the room is a
baby grand piano. At this piano Lew Ayres, the musician-
dreamer, sits for hours, poking away at fragments of half-
remembered melodies, in search of a few pleasing chords
which he can whip up into a theme for a composition.
Anything but a dabbler, he's written a "Symphonic Fan-
tasy," which has received high praise from critics. He's
also written sundry tangos and pop tunes just for the
fun of it.
His weather bureau is rapidly acquiring a sort of no-
toriety around town, but to hear Lew tell it, as a weather
prophet he's a nifty handball player! As we said, the
whole thing started when Lew decided to take life easy.
His first piece of apparatus was (Continued on page 79)
€ a in e r a-angling
Jules Bnek reels Vm
in from the Holly-
wood social swim!
Ann Rutherford, haunter of bowling
alleys and rifle ranges, dons eve-
ning togs for a dignified date with
composer Gus Kahn's son, Don,
who wants to lead a band.
Since their return from a Caribbean
cruise, the Allan Joneses have been
keeping up the suntanning with
frequent sunbaths beside their real
swanky swimmin' pool at home!
We all thought Dana Dale's case was cinched when Jeff
Lynn gave her a sparkler. But what about his fre-
quent N. Y. phone calls to old flame Doris Carson?
Helen Parrish, whose former fiance, Forrest Tucker,
eloped with Sandra Jolley, Earl Carroll beauty, forgets
it all at the Florentine Gardens with Charlie Lang.
1
Though Vic Mature and Liz Whitney still play "on-
again, off-again," Vic's definitely "on" in movies, having
been picked for the lead in Anna Neagle's next film.
Claudette Colbert, who is on "trial" separation from
Doc Pressman after five years of matrimony, threes-
a-crowds it with William Goetz and his wife at Ciro's.
MODERN SCREEN
Since her front-page romance in
New York fell short of marriage,
Arline Judge has returned to a
Hollywood film career. Here she
is with Lloyd Pantages at Ciro's.
Here's the exception to all Holly-
wood rules! The Stuart Erwins
defy columnists and gossiping
home-wreckers by remaining uni-
formly blissful for eight long years.
Since his return to Hollywood,
songster Tony Martin's been hav-
ing a time for himself and Natalie
Draper on the $5,000-a-week sal-
ary he gathered during his tour!
Though Don's considerably jarred 'cause the missus, Honore Ameche, up
and sheared her braids, he can't stay solemn when Benny's around. The
minute they see each other, it's a question of who can get the first laugh.
Jack Huber savors the sunny side
of law! He insured Dotty Lamour's
constancy to law partner Bautzer
by taking exclusive charge of her
social life during Greg's absence!
Wild and woolly westerner Tim Holt and wife, the former Virginia Ashcroft,
celebrate their second wedding anniversary with Tim's handsome pop,
Jack Holt, who doesn't look a day over 21 — in spite of being a grandpa!
Looks like Laraine Day may yen
for intrigue, the way she strays from
M-G-M hairdresser, Sydney Guilar-
off, for frequent rendezvous with Bob
Shaw, the Linda Darnell heartbeat.
JANUARY, 1941
45
it's an old
SITIEU
custom
"But darling, it's so simple," Ann Sothern expostu-
lated to the feverish and bewildered carpenter. "All you
have to do is move the walls out eight feet, put in a new
floor and raise the roof."
She sighed complacently, smiled sweetly and gave herself
over to a completely new set of musings. As far as Ann
was concerned, the little problem of enlarging her living
room had been solved.
Needless to say, in a couple of weeks the room was
handsomely altered, and in due time Ann's Crescent Drive
house, formerly occupied by the Ritz Brothers, had devel-
oped into a showplace. She knows what she wants, this
lady, and she usually gets it!
Make no mistake in classifying Ann. Despite that ridi-
culously turned-up nose, bee-stung lips that rate her
"most kissable" to Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith, Rob-
ert Young, Francis Lederer and Cesar Romero (in the
movies, _of course) Ann Sothern is an ingenuous soul.
She's as individual as a gown by Schiaparelli, as friendly as
a neighbor's kitten, as ambitious as Wendell Willkie. She
firmly believes that anything is possible, and nine times out
of ten she proves the truth of that conviction.
While "Maisie" made her what she is today, Ann is
nothing like her screen self. "Maisie" has all of Ann
Sothern's fine qualities, but Ann has none of "Maisie's" bad
ones. Ann is a fine student. Her prized possessions are
medals for original piano compositions. She is the last
word in chic and femininity. She stands for meticulous
living, but she has grown to depend a lot on the slap-
happy "Maisie." Recently, when Ann and Mai (Mrs. Ray)
Milland visited New York, "Maisie" was really a heroine!
But let Ann tell it in her own melodramatic way.
BY JERRY ASHER
This business of mak-
ing people laugh is
one of a dozen swell
Sothern traditions!
"We had dinner at Ruby Foo's. Then we went to see
'Foreign Correspondent.' We were- so thirsty by the time
we finally got out, we just had to have a drink. Well, we
stopped and asked a policeman where we could buy a
soda. He gave us that 'Oh, yeah?' kind of a look and sent
us on our way.
"Finally we found a drug store still open way over on
the other side of town. We leaned out the car window
and asked another policeman, who was standing on the
corner, whether they sold ice cream sodas. He gave us a
knowing wink, assured us we certainly could get a "soda,"
then went whistling on his way.
"By this time we were laughing so hard, we almost fell
out of the car. Just as we started to cross the street, I felt
someone grab my arm." Turning, I looked into the tough-
est face I have ever seen. 'So you're looking for an ice
cream soda,' he said knowingly, as he gave my arm a
familiar squeeze. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, I
became 'Maisie Ravier.'
'"On your way, brother!' I yelled in a voice that Mai
says sounded like Wally Beery's. She was as surprised
as the man. He backed away. He tipped his hat. You
never saw anyone so taken aback. We laughed about that
incident for days, and I've had great respect for 'Maisie'
ever since."
If Ann Sothern didn't possess a natural, lovable, down-
to -earthiness, she never would have been able to breathe
her lust for life into "Maisie." Yet, she sees herself as a
glamour girl. Actually she looks the part. Those Bernard
Newman gowns leave little to the imagination. She goes in
for bizarre jewelry and hair-dos that look like French pas-
try. She's everything Hollywood (Continued on page 62)
MODERN SCREEN
'/7
UNDRESSED
A MERRY IDEA
What kind of Xmas gifts do YOU like to get? We've been asking that
question for weeks . . . and the answers are almost equally divided!
Half, "Practical, please!" — half, "Pretty, please!" Here are two
pages of both kinds . ... all designed to give a lif t to loveliness.
48
A Bali Bow-Bra both beautiful and dutiful. Inserted net bow on cot-
ton broadcloth. $1. Ribbon and lacy petty-skirt in rayon satin by
Seamprufe, as sturdy as it is dainty. $2 at leading New York stores.
M
■Si
Gift trio: Charming Rhythm
Romancer slip. $2. Blackton
Shops. Flattering lacy rayon
crepe nightie. $3. Arnold
Constable. "Petalskin" rayon
bed jacket by Van Raalte, $2.
McCreery's arcade. New York.
A long-sleeved nightie for cozy-dozy comfort,
Beautifully tailored of rayon crepe. $3 at
Arnold Constable. For her toes these twink-
ling "Dotty d'Orsay" slippers in two-toned
rayon satin. $1.98 at Saks 34th. Last, not
least, a Mary Barron slip that's flounced 'n'
bosomed in lace — fits like a dream. Rayon
crepe. $1.98. Oppenheim Collins, New York.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Will Jingle Christmas Day;
If yon bay yoar presents
In the Prop Shop valae-way!
HHRHwHmBHHRflHHNi
SANTA ANITA
BRACELET
Looks like a lot, costs
but a little. A mod-
ern motif for a mod-
ern miss. $1. Frank-
lin Simon, New York.
HAND W
HEART
Just imagine! Big,
beautiful silver-
fox tail muff bag —
a find at $14.98.
Macy's, New York.
ITS TINY BUT
MY, OH, MY!
This baby mesh bag
steps out at night
all dressed up in
gold or silver. $2.
At leading stores.
SO
SHE'S SMITTEN
WITH MITTENS
A gay idea for day
V datetime. Draw-
string doeskins in new
colors! $2.00. Saks
5th Ave., New York.
Eaton's famous Highland Papers for Christmas gift-
ing in a delightful keepsake box. $1. Lord & Taylor.
ACCENT FOR
EVENINGS
Pure silk chiffon
hankie, with color-
ful sequin corner.
Hand-rolled. $1 at
Stern's, New York.
A SPARKLING
HEADLINER
Glitter glamour for
beanie lovers! Se-
quins all over the
place! $1-95. Lord
& Taylor, New York.
MODERN SCREEN
Wiseacres who said
Welles was taking
Hollywood are due
for a terrific shock-
it's just the reverse!
It's a svelte and
smooth-shaven genius
that's seen around
Hollywood nowadays.
Above, with Del Rio.
BY DECLA DUNNING
7
HOLLYWOOD'S BANKRUPT GENIUS
Orson Welles is broke. The fabulous young genius
from New York, Hollywood and Mars has spent his last
fabulous dime. "Don't heckle me about my grocery bills,"
he said recently to one of the four lawyers who are on
the payroll of Welles, Inc. The lawyers hadn't meant to
heckle him. It was nothing more than the natural curi-
osity of a counselor who is confused by red ink.
He came out here a little over a year ago to make a
picture for RKO. Welles was then, and is now, a corpora-
tion in which stockholders share their respective interests.
RKO offered the Welles corporation a hundred and fifty
thousand dollars to make a picture. Welles himself was
to write, act in and direct the production.
-Hollywood gasped! "How does he get that way?" was
the substance of local opinion. The green-eyed monster
of jealousy joined the reception committee, and " — so he's
smart, is he!" said the know-it-alls. "Well, let's see what
he can do."
The first picture was announced, "Heart of Darkness,"
but it wasn't made. The second picture was announced,
"Smiler With the Knife," but this, too, was set aside.
Months passed. "Wasting money," criticized a town which
has long since perfected the business of prodigality. Well,
perhaps Welles was wasting money, but he wasn't wasting
RKO's. He was wasting his own.
His contract stipulated that the money would not be
paid until the picture was completed. No film, no dough,
as we say on Vine Street.
Welles had a radio commitment in New York and he
had to make bi-monthly appearances there. His trans-
continental flights were a strain on his budget. And, al-
though he was paid well for the Mercury Theatre of the
Air, his net profits were negligible.
Why? Because Welles is a perfectionist, and anything
just mediocre is not good enough for him. He wanted a
larger orchestra than the sponsors had paid for, more
actors and more rehearsals than those mentioned in the
expense account. It isn't in Welles' nature to bicker about
the difference between fifty dollars and a hundred, or five
hundred and a thousand, so he simply paid the difference
himself.
He is impatient of delay. More than once, when the
salaries of actors working on his WPA productions were
held up by government red tape, Welles wrote personal
checks for the money. "Why not?" he would reply to any
criticism that such generosity was unorthodox. He said
the same when reproached by those who think he "hires"
too frequently and "fires" too seldom. Or to the cryptic
reminder that he is too broke to play Santa Claus.
"Wire a thousand immediately. Love, Orson" is the
telegram which has all of his four lawyers rushing for
the bromo-seltzer. "You can't do that," is their favorite,
though futile, remonstrance. He can, and he does.
Where does the money come from? Well, once upon a
time there was a young man who inherited a sizable sum
from his father's estate. Welles spent the greater part of
it taking the rap for the stockholders who had put their
money into his stage production, "Five Kings." It was an
artistic failure and Welles did not think that his stock-
holders should share the failure. The rest of his inheritance
was pared down by taxes, and further depleted by legal-
ities over the estate. He was left with twelve dollars in
cash. That's right, the money doesn't come from there.
From radio, personal appearances or the theatre? Not
now. Welles has been off the air for several months. He's
been too busy working on his new picture, "Citizen Kane,"
to do a New York play. He plans to pick up a few pennies
on a radio show but nothing (Continued on page 68)
JANUARY, 1941
51
As feminine as flowers — Lady Esther's three-piece
gift set contains face powder, cream and delicate co-
logne, beautifully boxed in rose-coral — a mere $1.00.
A love of a manicure kit, colorful in a variety of simulated leathers, completely equipped
with popular Dura-Gloss polish, remover, cuticle remover, cotton, orange stick, file and
emery board — a perfect stocking stuff er that looks much more than a modest fifty cents.
Irresistible is the word for this colorful holiday box full of props for loveliness —
talcum, cold cream, skin freshener, lipstick and an amazingly pleasing little bottle
of perfume — all for the astonishing sum of fifty cents — indeed well named Irresistible.
A sturdy, useful men's leatherette traveling kit, that can be used over and over again,
is filled with three of those perfect Palmolive shave preparations — cream, lotion and talc,
together with a tube of Colgate's dental cream. Substantial and good looking for $1.50.
A festive red and white sleeve, with black eyes sprinkled in gold stars, slips over this
original green Kurlash box containing that excellent eyelash curler so dear to the heart
of every girl who has used one. A gift of glamour that's gay and different — $1.00.
It's June in January for the lucky recipient of this fragrant box full of fresh-scented
Spicy Apple Blossom talc, perfume and cologne so daintily packaged by Lander of New
York and yours anywhere in exchange for one-quarter of the well-known American dollar.
A gift from Hollywood — as thrilling and beautiful as the glamour girls who use it —
is Max Factor's Special Make-up Set containing powder, rouge, cleansing cream, lipstick
and liquid Brillox in shades for blonde, brunette, brownette or redhead types — $3.55.
52
MODERN SCREEN
Hand it to Hinds Honey and Almond Cream for the prize repackaging trick of the year!
This grand, fragrant and efficient old stand-by has been put into luxurious new white and
fuchsia bottles, stunning to look at, easy to handle, a decorative yet practical gift — $1.00.
A Christmas star full of exquisite Cheramy gifts — April Showers perfume, toilet water,
new perfume applicator, to be worn on a lapel, and a generous box full of fluffy Cheramy
powder — loveliness enough to gladden any feminine heart — and a good buy for $2.00.
For that extra special friend who loves luxury, give Hudnut's de luxe blue or maroon
leather Week-ender Travel Kit with washable lining, completely outfitted with skin and
cleansing creams, foundation lotion, freshener, powder, rouge and lipstick — all for $5.00.
A dressing table darling — this Cutex Fair Lady Set is slim as a whistle when closed, yet
snaps open with all four bottles in upright position — polish, foundation, cuticle and pol-
ish removers plus five implements and cotton. Pearl finished fabric and gold case — $2.75.
A box full of glamour — that's what you're giving when you choose this smart, gold-
colored metal Maybelline vanity containing that beautifier supreme — solid Maybelline
Mascara in either black, brown or blue — to suit the personality of its recipient — 75c.
Schoolmates, business friends and favorite relatives — all will adore you more for think-
ing of them in terms of this delightful pink and blue box of Pond's famous two creams,
their fine Danya cream lotion, color-perfect face powder and cleansing tissues — 50c.
Give a man a gift he can use and let who will be clever— that's our motto and here's our
suggestion : Woodbury's smart leather-colored kit containing four delightfully masculine
toiletries — shave cream, lotion, talcum and dental cream — all for one little lowly dollar.
Exquisite perfume by Djer-Kiss, stunning box by famous designer Lester Gaba — put them
together and you have a charming gift for the prime sophisticate on your Christmas list
a gift that bespeaks good taste, high regard and belies the reasonable $2.50 it costs.
JANUARY, 1941
George Raft so firmly believes that
a suit in the trunk is worth two in
the closet that he actually totes along
six trunks even on four-day trips!
HAVE YOURSELF A PEEK AT THE
HOLLYWOOD SCENE THROUGH
OUR FOOLPROOF KEYHOLE!
RAFT GOES BUY-BUY
George Raft never has his suits cleaned. He doesn't have to. He
just wears an outfit a half-dozen times or so, and passes it on to a
friend! According to tailors Mariani and Davis, it's this little habit
that enables Mr. Raft to annually run through 30 suits (at $140 per);
4 top coats ($150-$250 ea.); 5 sports jackets ($100 ea.); two tuxedos
($175 ea.); and 10 pairs of slacks (at $40 the pair). Mariani and Davis
stitch all of these fancy duds, and for years have been the authorities
on the famed Raft wardrobe. They kept George in the pink of fashion
long before he could keep himself — financially, that is — because they
knew he'd be a winner some day, and today he's their best cash
customer. From them we learn that George is such a clothes-conscious
fussbudget, he spends entire days having the buttons on a coat
shifted until they "set" right; he refuses to wear green; he insists on
tails two inches longer than the conventional length (to give him
height); he never wears a ' vest and, no matter how successful a
- third fitting is, he demands at least six. Since George is their pet,
Mariani and Davis don't mind humoring him. To keep him happy,
they even send their sales manager up to the Raft home once a
week for an afternoon of ball slinging with the baseball-batty Mr. R.!
BOTTLE BABY
Don't be surprised if a major studio and one of its top femme stars
part company shortly. The lady's been hitting the bottle with too
much vigor lately and the studio's tired of covering up for her. Her
last "severe cold," the third in a few months, was nothing more than
a good old-fashioned case of "d.t's" and held up an expensive pro-
duction for several days. Her bosses don't think it'll influence her
much, but they've warned the star the next time she slips they'll buy
her a case of hooch and send her home forever.
DOUBLE-TAKES
The Lana Turner-Vic Mature romance, though dead these many
months, was beautiful while it lasted. And like many a beautiful
romance before it, it is being immortalized in a new Hollywood fad.
Taking its place beside the hair-do fashioned after Juliet's and the
hats adapted from Lillian Russell's is the craze they started for wear-
ing similar clothes. You remember, when their affair was still blaz-
ing like an election eve bonfire, Lana and Vic matched everything
but their nighties. Well, the idea caught on and scores of Hollywood
kids — Jackie Cooper and Bonita Granville included — have taken it up.
What's good for a snicker these days, though, is the sight of Lana,
garbed in a sleek Mature-era suit, dining at a neighborhood eatery
with her newest blood-tingler, Tony Martin, and trying to look casual
while the identically-garbed Mr. Mature sits nearby swearing love
eternal to either Liz Whitney or Betty Grable.
THIN MAN
Bing Crosby has found a snake in- the bosom of his own family. His
kid brother Bob (of Dixieland Band and Crosby Bobcats fame), has
been recruited from the airways and the danceways to appear in
RKO's "Let's Find a Song." Bob's only been in town a few weeks
but, judging by his fan mail, in that short while has developed into
a formidable threat to Bing's popularity with the dowagers and
debutantes." The reason, we suppose, is that he can give the gals
something Bing never could — a miraculous, reducing diet. When
Bob took his first screen test, it was discovered that he had too many
chins and too many inches around the middle to become a movie
hero. He hurried home and two weeks later returned to the studio
28 pounds lighter. Now he's receiving hundreds of letters from female
fatties who want to know how he did it! Bob's getting a bang out
of the letters, but not out of cracks like the one Kay Kyser let fly the
other day. Said Kay: "I never expected to see Skinnay Ennis out
here!"
LOVE ON ICE
From the inside, we hear that all's not sunshine and light in the ro-
mantic garden of Robert Stack and Mary Beth Hughes. The trouble
started when the pair attended a party tossed by the Hollywood
54
MODERN SCREEN
Rait numbers his suits at 45 . . . prefers con-
servative tweeds, maroon ties, imported white
hankies . . . closets trousers and jackets sepa-
rately . . . dons newly pressed togs every morn.
Models' Guild. In the course of the evening, Bob disappeared and
when Mary Beth found him he was being more polite than she deemed
necessary to several of his gorgeous hostesses. To retaliate, she
dropped an extra wink in the direction of Bob's best friend who
tumbled fast. Now frosty glances are flying in every direction and
unless something unexpected melts them, we have a pretty good
hunch that both of these kids will again be hanging from the free-
lance line.
SHORT SHOTS
Ida Lupino has written 13 new waltzes . . . There's a $40,000 in-
surance policy covering Paulette Goddard's gems . . . Two pairs of
shorts are up for sale at the Hollywood Memento Mart — the_ con-
tribution of Orson Welles . . . Ty Power nixed p.a. guarantees of
$5,000 a week because he preferred an uninterrupted holiday with
his wife . . . Josef von Sternberg is writing the story of his life . . .
The Clark Gables share their ranch with 20 alley cats . . . Jeanette
MacDonald knows less than nothing about present-day music . . .
Jean Arthur personally makes her own bed . . . Devoted wife Merle
Oberon lights her husband's cigars . . . Andy Devine owns more
than 100 racing pigeons . . . Frank Morgan boasts he's never
written a letter in his life . . . The almost unbearable heat of
the set made a "Chad Hanna" elephant faint dead away. The
great, big sissy had to be sprayed with a fire hose for hours before
he'd come to!
LOVE GLANDS
It movie stars consulted their glands instead of their hearts, fewer
Hollywood romances would wind up in a Reno graveyard. Anyway,
that's the opinion of gland expert George Antheil who believes that
two glands beating as one make for greater happiness than two
hearts doing the same thing. For example, he claims Rosalind Rus-
sell should pick a mate of the Edward G. Robinson variety; Katharine
Hepburn would be happy with a man like Leopold Stokowski;
Deanna Durbin and Henry Fonda are sympathetic types, and so are
Because a lapel ran one-half inch afoul,
tailor-made George once tossed away a brand-
new $140 suit and ordered another at the same
price with the lapel one-half inch higher!
BY SYLVIA KAHN
Laurence Olivier and Bette Davis, Lucille Ball and Jascha Heifetz,
and Ginger Rogers and Don Ameche. Mr. Antheil's glands give him
other tip-offs, also. He says that Bette Davis' life is paced too fast,
that Betty Grable ought never be sure of anything, and that Ginger
Rogers' practicality is her downfall with men!
SLIP PARADE
Blondes and yachts aren't the only ingredients that make up a di-
rector's life. The big boys have a few worries tossed in, too. Take
those over at Universal. On Monday, Director Allan Dwan sent
Franchot Tone, Brod Crawford and several hundred cast and crew
members of "Trail of the Vigilantes" on a costly thousand-mile loca-
tion trip to the mountain region of Mexico. On Wednesday, the entire
mob was back. Seems nobody bothered to find out that the moun-
tains were so steep they couldn't get the equipment up! On Thursday
and Friday, Director Eddie Cline shot some difficult saloon scenes for
"The Bank Dick," and with the aid of signs and dialogue, the locale
was established as Kansas. On Saturday, someone remembered that
the Kansas of the "Bank Dick" period was bone dry and didn't have
a legal drop of giggle water within its borders! On Sunday, we hear,
Directors Dwan and Cline got together to figure out a good one to
tell the stockholders.
DESI'S PROVING GROUNDS
Those who take Lucille Ball's heart affairs to heart hope her crush
on Desi Arnaz isn't as serious as it looks. They expect no good will
come of it, for there's a clause in Desi's new movie contract which
prohibits marriage for three years. And everyone knows it takes
a mighty strong love to survive that length of time! Furthermore,
there's a rumor drifting in from the east that Desi's toting the torch
for a well-known Broadway dancer whose husband no likee. Lucille's
undisturbed by these items, however. Since Desi left for New York,
he's nearly drowned her in letters, telegrams, phone calls and
gifts — and that's all the proof she needs that she is, and will
continue to be, head gal in the handsome Cuban's life.
JANUARY, 1941
55
I Pat Morison modeled these
satin pajamas at the Chi-
nese Festival that was re-
cently held at "Pickfair"
by the Chinese Aid Council.
DOPE FROM THE DOUGHBOYS
Garbo and Gable are replacing the Salvation Army and the
Y. M. C. A. Sounds silly, doesn't it? But it's true. At least, in the
army. Once upon a time those organizations, with their hymn sings
and prayer meetings, were responsible for keeping up the morale
of the American soldiers. Recently, however, the Government
formed its own Morale Division and, in a poll taken among them,
discovered that doughboys would rather have their spirits lifted by
a movie than a Bible reading. As a result, hundreds of new theatres
are being set up in army camps all over the country. To make the
boys happier still, a second poll was taken to determine their
picture preferences. Hold tight for the scores! The boys voted their
top favorites to the Westerns, Hedy Lamarr and Ann Sheridan,
and their top peeves — Connie Bennett and English actors!
MR. AND MRS. OLIVIER
The conduct of the newly-wedded Laurence Oliviers is responsible
for many a lifted eyebrow on the set of "Lady Hamilton." The pair
simply don't behave like people in love! When they were
assigned the roles of Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson, two of the
most torrid lovers in all history, everyone thought they'd catch the
spirit of the play and coo between takes, kiss behind prop stairs
and scorch the sets with their clinches. Thanks to their .British
reserve, however, they treat each other as impersonally as Laurel
treats Hardy. In fact, the only reminder that there's anything be-
tween them is the expression in Larry's eyes when he looks at his
bride. It's sizzling — according to Mrs. Olivier. In one sequence, Larry
portrays the battle-scarred Nelson after he has lost an eye, and wears
a false lid and orb over his own. Shrugged Vivien when asked
what she thought of her husband's disguise: "What does it matter?
Larry can do more with one eye than most men can with two!"
OUR COUNTRY COUSINS
Public appearances on the part of rancher Clark Gable and his
wife are as rare as tenth anniversaries in Hollywood. And they're
due to become rarer still for the Gables, who already live well out
of town, are now shopping for a home in another state. Their present
ranch is too small to accommodate the thousands of heads of cattle
they'd like to adopt and, when they find the right spot, they'll prob-
Aviatrix Lee Ya Ching, Roz
Russell (Council chairman),
Jane Withers and Mary
Pickford sign the guest book
for Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek.
No one would have recog-
nized Dotty Lamour in her
exotic Oriental make-up if
they hadn't spied her hand-
some escort, Greg Bautzer.
ably do a complete fadeout on the Movietown social scene. The
last time they stuck their famous noses out their own door, they
wound up at the Brown Derby and caused so much buzzing and
comment that a friend finally picked up enough courage to ask
them how come. Explained Clark: "We milked the cows, fed the
chickens and horses, put the cats out — and came to town to see the
rest of the animals eat!"
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Look for a second long-distance marriage for Madeleine Carroll.
Her French fiance, Count Richard de la Rosier, is expected to land
in New York in a few weeks and will make the Big City his perma-
nent headquarters. The Count was a Parisian stock broker before
becoming an air force captain and, it is said, would rather earn his
own way in the East where he has established business contacts,
than travel to Hollywood and become another movie_husband. Inci-
dentally, there's nothing curious about Madeleine's leaning toward
a Frenchman. Though we think of her as a typical Englishwoman,
her father, John O'Carroll, was an Irishman and her mother was
born deep in the heart of France.
MARLENE HOLDS A CONFERENCE
Here's another "now-it-can-be-told" story. When Joe Pasternak put
Marlene Dietrich's last picture into production, he called it "Seven
Sinners" because he knew the sexy title was sure business bait.
Only one thing was wrong with it. The title didn't belong to him.
It was owned by Warners and Warners wouldn't lelinquish it.
After begging and bargaining for several months, Pasternak was
forced to admit he was beaten and announced that his picture would
be released under the title of "Tropical Sinners." However, Pasternak
reckoned without Miss Dietrich. The persuasive Marlene ran into
Jack Warner at Ciro's the other evening and, when you see the
film on your neighborhood screen, it will be called — "Seven Sinners."
56
MODERN SCREEN
The proceeds of the Festival
went to poor Chinese fami-
lies, so the Dick Hallidays
bought several autographed
copies of Dr. Lin's books.
Starlet Mary Healy, who is
engaged to Peter Lind Hayes,
was another gorgeous model
in the fashion show spon-
sored by Dolores Del Rio.
PRESIDENTIAL TIMBER?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington
were good names in their day — so good, in fact, that thousands of
mothers have blessed their newborns with one or the other of these
titles in the hope that a distinguished tag would give them the right
start in life. But, now, a new idol has cast his shadow over the
maternity ward — Gary Cooper. Mrs. Rex Lease, wife of the cowboy
actor, gave birth to her first child the other day, and named him Gary,
after the star. In Fort Worth, an expectant mama shook her hero's
hand .at the premiere of "The Westerner" and hurried home to give
birth to a nine-pound boy whom she named — Gary. And the original
and most famous of all Cooper name-sakes is, of course, Gary Crosby,
seven-year-old son of a singer called Bing. Young Crosby, by the
way, idolizes Cooper and has most of his mannerisms down pat.
TALL STORY
Excess weight isn't the only figure fault that greys the hair of Holly-
wood's boys and girls. Excess height's another problem. Forrest
Tucker who's 6' 4" nearly landed a part in "Legacy" but lost it
because he's too big. The story calls for four brothers who are
about the same size and the producers of "Legacy" couldn't find
three other actors to match him! Stirling Hayden, Paramount's
new charm dispenser, encountered a similar difficulty the other day.
He tried to enlist in the U. S. Naval Reserve but was rejected
because he's 6' 4" in his stocking feet. Too tall, said the Navy,
probably because they were afraid his length would abash the
other sailors! And while we're on the subject, 6' 4" is the height
limit for male actors. Taller men can't find feminine (screen) mates
and, besides, the present motion picture film wasn't designed for
giants. The height headache often catches up with women, too.
Lanky lovelies are as hard to cast as lanky leading men, and the
limit for the frail sex is generally 5' 6". That's why 20th Century-Fox
officials pray nightly that Linda Darnell will stop adding the inches.
Linda's almost 5' 5V2" now — and is still a growing child!
HOLLYWOOD FABLE
Last year, Walter Wanger paid a healthy sum for the movie rights
to Vincent Sheean's "Personal History" and hired a fancy-salaried
writer to do the screen adaptation. When the picture emerged not
one single situation or line of dialogue from the original story had
been used, so Mr. Wanger changed its title to "Foreign Correspon-
dent" and shipped it out. The other day, Mr. Wanger announced
that his next production would be — of all things— "Personal History!"
We can't help feeling that this is where we came "in.
SALTY HAM
The maddest man in Hollywood is Mr. John Barrymore. John, it
appears, is making "The Invisible Woman" over at Universal, just a
few doors down from W. C. Fields "The Bank Dick" set. On has first!
day at work an inspired press agent approached John and asked
him if he wouldn't please embrace W. C. for a publicity shot. John
said he darned well would not. However, the agent was so insistent
he finally broke down and agreed to stand still for "just one picture
and no more." Now he's sorry someone didn't shoot him first. When
he arrived on "The Bank Dick" set, the astonishing Fields lent an
ear to the agent, glanced quickly at the Profile, and roared: "Take
that man away! I'm in no mood for silly stuff today!"
THE AFFAIRS OF ANATOLE
Ever since Paulette Goddard and Anatole Litvak discovered each
other so spectacularly, the gossips have been hungering for some
comment from Miriam Hopkins, Litvak's one-time frau. Miriam,
naturally, has issued no public proclamations but we have it on
good authority that she's highly amused by the whole situation. In
fact, she feels responsible for it! When she and Litvak split, Miriam
confides, she sat down and wrote out a -long list of the things he
had done that were wrong during their wedded life. To her list
she added a series of suggestions on how to treat a woman, and
then sent the whole business to him. From that day forth, claims
she, Anatole Litvak has been the most successful playboy in Holly-
wood!
GOLDEN BOY
The golden stream of prosperity flowing into Gene Autry's lap has
the town's top-notchers sour with envy. Without benefit of ballyhoo,
Gene built his yearly income into a figure well beyond the six
zero mark and the citizens are scratching their scalps trying to dope
out his formula. Well, here's how Gene explains it to the income
tax boys: for eight pictures a year, $800,000; for advertising testi-
monials on products ranging from hair oils to pop guns, $100,000; for
fifty weeks of broadcasting, $50,000; for Gene Autry records, $25,000;
for a twelve week p.a. trek and three weeks in a rodeo, $90,000. You
add it up. We're too busy wondering what (Continued on page 75)
JANUARY, 1941
57
of a campus; ciitie
Betty Grable, the long-stemmed American
beauty, looks back on her hey-de-hey days!
BY JAMES CARSON
Director "Wild Bill" Wellman is Betty's
second favorite Conga partner, but
Fred Astaire has a slight edge on him.
Betty Grable didn't get a chance to go to college—
but don't worry about her; she'll get by. She is one little
cookie who will always get by. She has known what the
score is, to hear her tell it, for many a day.
"I've been in Hollywood eleven years now," she says.
"That's a lot of years. I think I know how to handle the
town. I think I know the angles."
Eleven years. It doesn't make sense. Why, the kid's
only — "How old are you, Betty?"
"Twenty-three. I started in the movie business when
I was eleven, at Fox. . . ."
It was back in 1929. Betty arrived in town with her
mother. They were on a vacation from St. Louis. Some-
body mentioned that Fox was looking for specialty dancers
for a movie called "Let's Go Places." Back home Betty
58
In "Down Argentine Way," Betty (seen here
with co-star Don Ameche) has the Ginger
Rogers-ish sort of role she's always wanted.
had been taking dancing lessons since she was five. She
thought it would be fun to try for the movie job.
She made a test, but the studio said it wasn't good
enough. However, they did need some chorus girls for a
picture called "Happy Days."
So Betty Grable, aged eleven, lied valiantly about herself,
insisted she was going on fifteen and got away with it!
"Happy Days." It was a good omen. Betty's first movie.
The beginning of a new life.
She stayed at Fox eighteen months. Then somebody
raised a rumpus about too many minors on the lot and
all of them got thrown out, Betty included. >
Out of Fox about a minute and a half, she got a job
singing with Ted Fio Rito's band. That kept her in the
public eye. More important, it kept her in the producers'
eyes.
Pretty soon RKO was getting ready to shoot a picture
called "The Gay Divorcee," starring Ginger Rogers and
Fred Astaire. They wanted a girl in it to sing a number
with Edward Everett Horton, "Let's Knock Knees." Betty
got the job. Also an RKO studio contract.
She still wasn't started. She kept moving, but nothing
important happened, nothing big. After three years, RKO
dropped her. And wouldn't you know that just at this
time Paramount was starting a whole slew . of college
pictures? Betty moved in.
She became Josephine College, the girl with the million-
dollar legs, the campus cutie.
But two years later she graduated— in other words, she
was out of a job.
Lots of ups and downs, huh? Not so many downs,
really. Changes, maybe, but not tough spots. In all her
eleven years in pictures she has been off the payroll only
two months. Not bad!
After Paramount, she went out on a personal appear-
ance tour with Jack Haley. Buddy de Sylva saw her in
San Francisco. He was casting (Continued on page 80)
MODERN SCREEN
BEAUTY PRIMER...d
e luxe
If A stands for American and B stands for Beauty,
then C stands for Cleanliness!
American Beauty, no matter how luxuriously nur-
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puritan, almost bandbox daintiness ! Hair is shining.
Skin is visibly cared for, sweet and clean— like fruit
blossoms after a shower.
In many of America's leading families, the rites
with which this exquisite flower freshness of skin is
wooed are the simple and adequate ones of Pond's
beauty primer de luxe: —
BURY your face under sleek layers of Pond's Cold Cream—
and smack your skin all over briskly with your cream-
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CLEAN OFF all this softened debris with the absorb-
ent purity of Pond's Tissues. Wiped off, too, are the
softened tops of some of the blackheads, rendering it
easier for the little plugs of hardened sebum to push
their way to the surface.
CHARMING CHRISTMAS BEAUTY BOXES
Copyright, 1940, Pond's Extract Company
COVER and BRISK UP a second time with Pond's Cold
Cream. Again wipe off with gracious Pond's Tissues. In your
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FRESHEN now with the cool, astringent splash of Pond's
Skin Freshener. Then
COAT your cool, clean face with its final benediction-
Pond's Vanishing Cream. This cream has the specific function of
dispersing remaining harsh particles, little chappings caused by
exposure, and endowing your skin with a flattering mat finish.
Wipe off after one full minute. Then observe with what favor
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Perform these simple yet luxurious Pond's rites in full— before
retiring or during the day. And again in briefer form as your skin
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Beauty,
in 3 sizes and assortments of
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MRS. VANDERBILT PHELPS ... all great-great-grandchildren of the famous COMMODORE CORNELIUS VANDERBILT
founder of the family fortune. Each has for years followed the simple yet luxurious Pond's precepts of skin care
JANUARY, 1941
5?
"DEAREST OLIVIA AND JOAN
(Continued from page 25)
A
Diana Lewis,
Donald's arch
affections in
up before
60
who's Jeanette Mac-
rival for Nelson Eddy's
"Bittersweet," primps
starting her pilfering!
and your younger sister, Joan, one eve-
ning when we were having a dinner
party, opening the door of your bed-
room and running out before us— in
your birthday suits, utterly nude — to the
amazement and amusement of everyone!
I recall, too, that even though you were
so young I never tried to impress any
religion or creed or bigoted ideas upon
you — except one word — tolerance. And
from what I have heard you took the les-
son well, because movie people who visit
Japan tell me the two of you are decent,
broad-minded, intelligent girls.
Then there were long years, while you
grew into womanhood, when I didn't see
either of you. That was when you were
in Saratoga, Calif., and your mother had
married Fontaine and I had married
again in Japan.
And Olivia, the last time I saw you—
remember?— when I crossed the Pacific
and met you in Carmel, California, that
delightful resort. Remember the won-
derful week we had together, and how
we vowed to repeat the experience
again one day? You were seventeen at
the time, stage-struck, and when your
mother spoke of money difficulties I de-
cided to send you fifty dollars a month
to go to dramatic school. I also decided
to take Joan back to Japan with me to.
help her gain a broader view of life.
And Joan, remember that trip across
the ocean, from San Francisco to Yoko-
hama? Does your memory go back the
seven years? Once in the ship's bar, I
found you drinking cocktails and acting
very sophisticated amidst a group of
men— and I hinted to you that a girl of
sixteen shouldn't touch cocktails and stay
up long past midnight and you replied
"I may be sixteen but I feel twenty!
Then we got to Japan, Joan. Remem-
ber? You remained for a year and a
half, all the while trying to persuade me
to return to America. And when I re-
fused, explaining it was not legally pos-
sible, you were angry, and wouldn't eat,
walk or swim with me. And those days
when you went to American School in
Tokyo, where I had once been principal,
and you were never interested in your
homework — but you were interested in
dancing and make-up and make-believe.
I won't forget the morning, during a
school vacation, Joan, when I asked how
you would like a position in a Tokyo
department store when your school days
were finished — and you took it as an in-
sult insisting you wanted to be an
actress.
AND then there was the time you asked
. me how long it would take to learn
chess. And I told you that, to become
really expert at it, about five hours of
practice a day. And later I found a let-
ter on your table, a letter you were writ-
ing to a girl friend, saying, "I am leav-
ing Japan and coming home because
W. A. wants me to spend five hours a
day learning to play chess, and I posi-
tively refuse to!" I reproached you a
little about this, but you said you had
to find some excuse for returning to
America — and I realized that you had a
marvelous imagination and might be-
come some kind of artist after all.
And now, Joan,* you are in Hollywood.
You are the famous actress, Joan Fon-
taine, who recently made such a tre-
mendous hit in "Rebecca." Now you are
married to a famous actor, Brian Aherne,
and it hurt me that I didn't know about
your marriage at all, not a word from
you. I learned about it from a reporter
on one of the local newspapers. Imme-
diately I wrote you my deepest congrat-
ulations, and Brian Aherne, a real gen-
tleman, replied with a letter thanking
me and telling me that "Joan is the finest
woman that ever lived." So it must be
love and I'm glad you got such a man.
Today in Japan here, hundreds of
Japanese come up to me and say, "You
are the father of Olivia de Havilland and
Joan Fontaine, aren't you? Do tell us
some inside things about your daughters!
But what can I tell them, girls? I can
only give my candid opinion about trifling
things— that, for example, I don't like the
way you usually fix your hair, Olivia,
and I object to the sameness of your
smile on all photographs, and that I think
you, Joan, will in the long run become
the greater actress because you have
more spirit than Olivia, though she is
the brighter.
Neither of you, unfortunately, have in-
herited your mother's voice. She had a
lovely voice and an ear for music. I
know the two of you can't sing and can't
dance with professional skill. However,
you have a flair for sketching— and are
fairly good actresses, though I hope you
will become much better.
YOUR main fault, Joan, in my opinion,
is that you are over-sensitive. You
lack, also, a healthy sense of humor or,
at least, you used to. For example, you
could never take my kidding about
romance. And you were always a bit
literal thinking I must be a gangster
because I was in business. In America
you'd heard all business men were
gangsters of a sort.
Well, girls, I didn't mean this to be
quite so long. I had wanted only to re-
mind you once more while there was
still time, of our days together, and of
the fact that still, in a far corner of the
muddled earth, you had a father who
often reads about you and thinks about
you and bears only feelings of good
will toward you both.
I have lived to see the two of you,
despite your faults and various handi-
caps, become famous and wealthy cinema
lights. I have seen you, Joan, married.
And by next year I hope you, Olivia, will
be married, too, to Jimmy Stewart or
some other decent young actor fellow.
I have heard from neither of you for
years— I am not referring to money— but
to mere postcards or letters. And this,
despite the fact I have mailed you cards
on every Christmas week. Perhaps you
haven't seen my cards. Maybe that's it.
But I am proud, believe me, to be the
father of a Joan Fontaine who could
make "Rebecca" and an Olivia de Hav-
illand who could make a living thing of
Melanie in "Gone With The Wind." And,
somehow, sitting here in my cheap Bunka
Apartments in Tokyo, with the streets
dark outside because of practice air-raid
precautions, I am glad that I have begun
—and finished— this aimless interview-
letter I have long wanted to write.
Good luck, daughters, and may married
happiness be with you both!
The elderly man sighed, took off his
spectacles and massaged his nose.
"Sign the letter," he said. "Sign it—
Your father, W. A. de Havilland.' And
there's your interview. Now, what about
a good, tough game of chess?"
MODERN SCREEN
How I won my stepchild's confidence
1. I'm John's second wife. And when I married him, I married his little girl,
too. It's worked out beautifully, except . . .well . . .you know how it is in a
small town. If Nancy should happen to be crying when some busybody passes
by, the whole town hears about how I "mistreat that poor motherless child."
MOVIE REVIEWS
(Continued from page 17)
citizens and two bands . . . Inhabitants'
hysteria was climaxed by the arrival of
Clark Gable who came up to have a little
vacation fishing while wifie Carole slaved
. . . Frank Fay completed his role be-
fore the rest of the cast, so went home and
plagued the rest of them with telegrams
about the joys of leisure. Carole and
Gargan learned that Fay's hay fever is
allergic to cats, so they sent him twelve
live kittens at one-hour intervals.
"A"jfc"Ar Too Many Girls
This is a tough one to tag. Although
stage producer, George Abbott, filmed the
play without sufficiently adapting himself
to the cinematic medium, it's really swell
entertainment in spite of itself.
The plot is thin — the regular Joe Col-
lege stuff — but it has a new twist and
amusing situations. The four best foot-
ball players in America enroll at small-
time Pottowatamie College, in order to
keep their eyes on Lucille Ball. There is
some slick dialogue, and Lucille and all
four boys are good entertainers: she's a
beauty; Richard Carlson is convincing as
the romantic element; Desi Arnaz en-
thralls the "women theatre-goers; Hal
LeRoy does some superb dancing and
Eddie Bracken gives excellent comedy
relief. Ann Miller and Frances Langford
are already enrolled at the school to
supply romantic complications, plus danc-
ing and singing.
You will want to know about Bracken
and Arnaz. The former is a new comic
who will be heard from because of his
natural and youthful comedy pan and his
masterful timing. Arnaz is the woman-
killing young Latin about whom you've
heard so much gossip lately.
It doesn't add up to much, but — oh,
heck, go see it; you'll have fun. Directed
by George Abbott. — RKO-Radio.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The musical
comedy from which the film was made ran
eight months on Broadway; Arnaz, Brack-
en and Le Roy were in the original cast . . .
Desi Arnaz developed a very bad charley
horse from the football sequence; his
hands, though used to playing the conga
drums, were so puffed when the number
was finished that he had to spend two
hours soaking them and receiving first
aid treatment to reduce the swelling . . .
Ann Miller attended Hollywood High
night school to acquire her knowledge
of Spanish . . . All the stage songs are
in the film, plus one new tune by Rodgers
and Hart, "You're Nearer" . . . Ann Miller
worked in films once before, but all the
studios let her slip away, they weren't
interested; she went to New York, got
into the George White "Scandals" and
now they're all fighting for her . . . Desi
Arnaz's real name is Desiderio Alberto
Arnaz y de Acha.
.*** Li+tle Bit of Heaven
Here is a lovely little unpretentious
film which will afford you a pleasant
evening of genuine fun. The studio has
not figured out a formula for Gloria Jean
(Continued on page 73)
2. I love Nancy and I refuse to spoil her. So
this morning, when she refused to take her lax-
ative, I forced her to. She flew into a rage and
cried, "My real mommy never made me take
that nasty-tasting stuff— you don't love me!"
4. "I used to force Roy to take a bad-tasting
laxative," Laura said. "But, according to the
doctor, that may shock a child's delicate nerv-
ous system. He said children should never get
an adult laxative, but one made especially for
children. He recommended Fletcher's Castoria"
6. The minute Laura left, I went out and
bought a bottle of Fletcher's Castoria. It's
everything she said it was, PLUS a peacemaker.
Nancy loves the taste of it, and our laxative
tussles are ended. Now we're always friends.
3. That hurt so much I burst into tears. When
my sister, Laura, dropped in later, I told her
how Nancy kicked up a fuss every time she
had to take a laxative. Then Sis explained how
her doctor solved the same problem for her.
5. "And it's wonderful!" Laura went on.
"Fletcher's Castoria is thorough . . . yet it's al-
ways mild and safe. There isn't a single harsh
drug in it. It works mostly in the lower bowel
so it isn't likely to upset a child's digestion. I
wouldn't dream of giving Roy anything else."
HERE IS THE MEDICAL BACKGROUND
Chief ingredient of Fletcher's Castoria
is senna.
Medical literature says: 1 1 ) In most
cases, senna does not disturb the appe-
tite and digestion or cause nausea . . .
(2) Senna works fundamentally in the
lower bowel ... (3) In regulated dos-
ages it produces easy elimination and
has little tendency to cause irritation
or constipation after use.
Senna is processed in Fletcher's
Castoria to eliminate griping and thus
allow gentle laxative action.
OL^&f&MIZ CASTORIA
The SAFE laxative for children
JANUARY, 1941
61
IT'S AN OLD SOTHERN CUSTOM
(Continued from page 46)
expects a star to be, and it's an exciting
demonstration. However, where glamour
leaves off, Ann Sothern really begins.
One day she went out on a shopping
spree In a glamorous mood she bought
a sensational thirty-five dollar nightgown
It was sheer and sexy. It was trimmed
with Alencon lace. Ann wore it to bed
that night. Her feet were cold. So she
pulled on a pair of two-bit cotton foot
warmers. Sleep just wouldnt come. Ann
covered her eyes with a heavy black
blindfold. The next day she went out
and bought yards and yards of batiste
Her conscience bothered her for being
so extravagant, so she copied the pat-
tern and made dozens of gowns for three
ninety-eight a piece! No self-respecting
glamour girl would ever tell this on
herself.
THERE was that night before her
mother's housewarming. Ann was
supervising the decorating. Suddenly she
decided the new house must have new
lamps. Barker Brothers on Hollywood
Boulevard was open until nine Ihere
was aU next day to shop, but knowing
she wouldn't sleep a wink with things
undone, Ann jumped into her car, wear-
ing old slacks, tennis sneakers, no make-
up and a none too becoming snood. An
hour later she emerged triumphantly
from Barker Brothers both arms loaded
with packages. ,
Just at that moment the Noel Coward
plays at the El Capitan Theatre next door
had intermission. Dozens of famous stars
dripping with jewels and ermine poured
out Fans swarmed all over the place.
Hedy Lamarr, Claudette Colbert, Mar-
lene Dietrich were besieged by auto-
graph hounds. Ann was shoved back and
forth until she almost fell on her fanny.
Juggling her lamps she ploughed through
a million dollars worth of glamour arid
climbed into her little Ford coupe. Not
one person had paid her the slightest at-
tention! Wild horses couldn't have kept
Ann from telling that one on herself.
Ann's shopping tours are traditional.
Invariably when she buys something
new, something old must be moved out
to make room. She makes a big thing
out of finding a place for it and always
winds up saying to Roger Pryor who
has long since resigned himself to the
routine, "Poppy, you know that old spin-
ning wheel I bought at that auction?
Don't you think it would just look ador-
able in your room?"
Needless to say at his stage of the
game, "Poppy" has to dig his way out
when he gets up every morning Ann
loves to shop for her friends, too If she
sees something she thinks they d like, she
just has it sent right oul^-C.O.D.
Ann and Roger, dressed to the teeth
one night, were on their way to a swank
opening at the Santa Monica Miramar
Hotel Taking a shortcut, they went
through Westwood Village— which was
Roger's great mistake. As they passed
Sears-Roebuck, Ann, seeing the store lit
up, grabbed Roger's arm and cried:
''Look, Poppy. Sears-Roebuck is open.
This is a good time to get the tent to
cover Carlo's doghouse. It may rain any
day now, and I don't think we should put
it off " , • • .. «
So Roger in white tie and tails, Ann m
gold lame and silver fox, went into Sears-
Roebuck and bought a tent. Besides
Carlo, there is also Doonie, a Scottie, and
Budgie, a fox terrier, that Ann lovingly
62
calls her "old maid."
Dogs and little boys can always find a
warm spot in the heart of "Maisie
Sothern. Occasionally she still finds her-
self wandering into little David's room.
It has never been touched since the day
he was taken from her. Ann's love for the
poor little boy was truly great, and had
his family allowed him to remain with
her, Ann had plans to make him inde-
pendent for life.
Ever since Ann, the George Murphys
and Cesar Romero started out in show
business, they have kept in touch with
each other. Today all their dreams are
realized. Each owns his own home. Each
is famous and successful. During their
Judy Garland raises some smoke at
the Motion Picture Mothers' dinner'
dance by peddling cigarettes!
weekly get-togethers they never fail to
talk about the time when the Murphys
danced in a Chinese restaurant m ex-
change for their dinner; when Butch
Romero did a corny vaudeville routine
with top hat, high kicks and a cane;
when Ann was broke and slept in an all-
night movie. Ann loves these evenings.
More than the swankiest Hollywood
party. . • j
Whenever her sisters, Bonnie and
Marion, come over, Ann has something
new cooked up. Long ago they learned
to be prepared for anything. Ann, who
says she is a frustrated hairdresser, cut
bangs on herself. So they had to have
bangs or else. Ann bought a sewing
machine (and promptly called herself
Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl) and
took lessons. Her first little garment was
a pinafore. So Bonnie and Marion wore
pinafores. Ann called them, "My little
Madchen in uniform." Ann has names
for herself for all occasions. During the
period that she suffered from anemia,
she referred to herself as "Bloodless Sal.
When she was in New York with Mai,
she sent telegrams to their friends and
signed them "Rosetta and Vivian."
Her most cherished possession is an old
pongee make-up robe. It's faded and
baggy. The belt hits her some place
around the knees. But life wouldn't be
complete without it. She panics herself
every time she puts it on and refers to
herself as "a fugitive from Adrian."
Recently Ann took to gardening. She
may run out of "Moment Supreme" but
never Vitamin B. Roger insists she uses
it to spike his scotch and soda. One night
when Rhea Gable invited her to a card
party, Ann called up apologetically:
"I'm so sorry, darling, but I can't come
over. I'm working out a perennial border
for mama."
While she was jobless for a year
Hollywood gave her the brush-off. "Ele-
phant Annie" isn't forgetting. She knows
that her "Maisie" pictures are making
more money for the studio than some
of their artistic flops. Modestly, she
realizes that she has carried the burden
herself— with the possible exception of
Robert Young. Still Ann can't be in-
duced to go in and ask for a raise. She
is grateful for the chance to prove her
ability. She has faith enough in herself
to believe she will eventually be re-
warded. Recently a well-known Holly-
wood producer, who forgot he once told
her she'd always be a lousy actress, came
to her and said:
"Ann, you're a fool to let them shove
you around. Why, you're one of their
biggest stars and they don't appreciate
you. Your last 'Maisie' did more busi-
ness at the boxoffice than their A pic-
tures."
"Yeah," cracked Ann. "What other pic-
ture was playing on the same bill?"
The disarming manner Ann employs is
a constant source of amusement. Quite
seriously she confides that before the
war, in her nightly prayers, among other
things she asked to do a picture for
Ernst Lubitsch. She always seems sur-
prised when you laugh at her.
ON that New York trip Ann and Mai
arrived on a Sunday. They could
hardly wait to start their shopping.
Bright and early Monday morning they
drove up in front of Saks Fifth Avenue.
The doorman recognized Ann and bowed
her to the entrance. Salesladies recog-
nized her and came forward eagerly. A
Hollywood movie star on a New York
shopping trip. What could be sweeter!
"May I assist you, Miss Sothern?"
asked the head saleslady solicitously.
"Why, yes, thank you," Ann beamed.
Opening her bag, she took out a long
list of things that even included a silver
fox cape. Her eyes focused on the very
first item. With all the aplomb of a lady
who was about to purchase the Empire
State Building, Ann exclaimed^
"I'd like one blond hair net."
If "Maisie Ravier" warms your heart,
makes you laugh and cry until you want
to reach out and embrace her, perhaps
this will give you a rough idea of how
she got that way.
MODERN SCREEN
HOW LOVE HAS CHANGED
(Continued from page 26)
was terrified of the moon-calf look in my
big brown eyes. He was a happily mar-
ried man. Not only that; he was the
father of a new-born baby. When I
found out about that baby, I was very,
very unhappy. I just couldn't hang onto
my illusions . . . That baby has grown
up to be Barbara Denny, the beautiful
Earl Carroll showgirl.
"But we were talking about love
scenes — "
"When I first started," Mary resumed,
"love scenes were on the stiff and formal
side. Heroines were stiff and formal. 'As
pure as the driven snow,' to quote an
early subtitle. I think the vamps and
the villains must have sold the pictures.
Audiences could not possibly have paid
to see those heroines. And the heroes
were just as pure.
"Virtue isn't exciting, dramatically
speaking, until it's threatened by wicked-
ness. Women in the audience got a
vicarious thrill out of the efforts of the
villain to seduce the virginal heroine.
And men in the audience got a vicarious
thrill out of the efforts of the vamp to
entice the innocent hero. The men, par-
ticularly, got their money's worth. Or
maybe you don't remember Carmel
Myers in a Turkish harem dress, consist-
ing chiefly of a G-string, a veil and two
beads; or Louise Glaum in a tiger skin;
or those two super sirens, Theda Bara
and Nita Naldi, in shimmering black
satin, absolutely skin-tight.
Nowadays they make films about
heroines who hold their men by
out-vamping the vamps. But in those days
heroines and vamps were not sisters
under the skin. Heroines expressed love
one way, and vamps expressed it another
way, and there was no happy com-
promise. If you were a female heavy,
you were strong on the bodily contact;
if you were a heroine, you were strong
on the spirituality. The idea was to look
demure and unsophisticated. That wasn't
too hard for me.
COMETIMES the hero kissed me, some-
^ times he didn't. If he did, it was
with reverence for my purity. And if he
didn't, it was because he loved me soul-
fully, if you know what I mean. I didn't
mind. In fact, I rather enjoyed being
'The Revered Type.' I didn't realize the
fun I was missing."
Mary laughed at the recollection.
"Then came Valentino. He ushered in
a new era, in which the heroes made
love passionately. For the heroines, that
was an era of back-breaking embraces
and love scenes that were wrestling
matches.
"Then there was the flaming youth
cycle, started by F. Scott Fitzgerald's
novels. That was the era of showing
what wild parties and necking were do-
ing to the younger generation. I re-
member one picture in which I tossed
away all my inhibitions and did a swan
dive off a balcony. A stunt girl did the
actual dive, but it looked as if I did it,
and the effect was terrific.
"Then there was the day of 'The Prob-
lem Drahmah.' Heroines regularly broke
their hearts either over their own sins
or the transgressions of the men they
loved. They wept their way to happiness.
"There was a time when every heroine
was a flirt and made love frivolously.
There was another time when every
heroine was a pretty little toughie who
thought she didn't want anything to do
with love— until the right man forcefully
kissed her. And still another when the
heroes were shy and the heroines did
the pursuing. And every so often there
would be a return to the poetic, tender
type of love.
"Right now I'd say the tendency is to
express love by suggestion, rather than
actual physical illustration. In All This,
and Heaven Too,' for example, Charles
Boyer and Bette Davis never touch each
other, but you don't doubt the depth of
their love. In 'Spring Parade,' you don't
see Robert Cummings kiss Deanna Dur-
bin because a pillar gets in the way, but
your imagination tells you what happens.
In 'Brigham Young,' the big love scene
has Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell
talking to each other through a curtain.
Their love is something you sense, rather
than see.
"I haven't been kissed on the screen for
so long, myself, that I've forgotten what
it's like. In 'Brigham Young,' I played
the favorite wife of a man who had
twenty-seven wives, yet he and I never
so much as held hands. The depth of
our love was only suggested— by looks
and tones of voice. Things were different
the last time Dean Jagger and I were
teamed together. That was in a little
number called 'The Woman from Hell '
WITH GINGER ROGERS
HAVE FUN at the movies — know what happens behind the
scenes! For example, January SCREEN GUIDE shows not only
Ginger Rogers' greatest love scene, but the backstage stuff that
made it great. Get "inside " Hollywood with SCREEN GUIDE.
OTHER SCOOP FEATURES
FIFTEEN FAVORITES are photo-storied in January SCREEN GUIDE.
Among the exclusive scoops are:
"What Has Changed Mickey Rooney?" (See for yourself whether the
screen's "Little King" can do no wrong!)
"Judy Garland: The Girl She Is Today" (Easier to love!)
"Kisses Come Back !" (By censors' grace, love lives again!)
"Fashions from Filmland" (See how to look really star-like.)
Full-Color Photos: Gable, Lamarr, Astaire, Goddard, Grable!
Plus pages of intimate gossip, beauty advice, film reviews!
FREE — If you haven't seen a copy recently, write to SCREEN GUIDE, Dept. M,
731 Plymouth Ct., Chicago, for a recent issue.
ScreenCuide :E I IQt
JANUARY, 1941
63
Katie Hepburn wears this Adrian-
designed wedding gown in the film
version of "The Philadelphia Story."
Fashion Note: Instead of a bouquet,
she carries a mousseline de soie muff
trimmed with clusters of cornflowers!
in which he was a lighthouse-keeper and
I the chippy who was the come-on for
a Coney Island concession called 'Hell.'
He made a good woman out of me with
his love. And kisses.
"Ah, yes, times have changed. It takes
a little more acting and a little better
acting to express emotion today."
Mary paused to arm herself with a
cigarette from a box at her elbow before
she plunged, by invitation, into an ac-
tress' impressions of some of the Great
Lovers.
"I never worked with John Gilbert, I m
sorry to say, though I knew him person-
ally. He had great charm and intense
enthusiasm. It would have been exciting
to play opposite him.
"I didn't know Valentino. I met him
only once, when we worked on adjoining
sets. I found out about back-breaking
embraces, however, when I worked with
John Barrymore in 'Don Juan.' That
was a mad experience. Before the
camera, he doubled me backward with
his ardor and behind the camera, he
doubled me forward with his wit. You
can say that I got a little lumbago and
a lot of laughs out of working with
Barrymore.
"The closest I came to being the fem-
inine half of a love team was when I
made several pictures with Lloyd Hughes,
who was a pre-Buddy Rogers type. We
did the shy kind of stuff. And we must
have done a fair job of it, because we
were suspected of being That Way in
real life — to the embarrassment of both
of us. Lloyd was married. But it was
fatal in those days for a screen lover to
let the public know he had a wife. And
it was even more fatal for a screen
heroine to have a husband and children.
That made her an old lady.
"One of my early thrills was the chance
to work with Richard Barthelmess in
'The Lash,' after getting a crush on him
in 'The Bright Shawl.' But that crush
went the way of the Reginald Denny one.
Mary Hay Barthelmess got herself born
about that time.
"I worked up a crush on Ronald Col-
man after seeing him in 'The Dark
Angel,' but I didn't get a chance to work
with him until 'The Prisoner of Zenda.'
By that time I had met him many times
socially and we were good friends, so
the excitement of the occasion was
dimmed. Life is like that.
"When Eugene O'Brien kissed me
under the chin in one picture, women
all over the country fainted — but I don't
recall having any emotions at the time.
ONE of my earliest favorites was
Thomas Meighan. He was the type
who was two-fisted with men, tender
with women, sort of the Clark Gable of
his time. Except that I think he took
himself more seriously than Clark, who
is apt to kid everything he does.
"I know a lot of kidding went on when
I did 'Red Dust' with him. Remember?
I played the other woman. The vamp
era was past, so I didn't have to be a
slinky siren. I just wore clothes that
were a little smarter, and made up my
mouth more heavily. But my scenes with
Clark were really something. I practi-
cally attacked him."
Mary crushed out her cigarette and
went on to some of the hazards of love
scenes.
"Girls still have to worry about leav-
ing lipstick on the hero's face and spoil-
ing the glamorous illusion of a romantic
kiss," she said. "At least, I've never
found a lipstick that wouldn't smudge —
under pressure. Though there's a trick
to eliminate most of the smudging. You
simply powder your lips dry before a
kiss.
And you have to think about not
crushing your dress, particularly if you
are wearing a creation that cost the studio
several hundred dollars. And you must
be especially careful if you're wearing
anything lacy. One take that I did once
was ruined, and so was a lacy gown I
was wearing, when the lace caught on
one of the hero's coat buttons.
"You have to think about the angle at
which you are to hold your face when
kissed — to get the effect the director
wants, and to keep the hero's nose from
casting a shadow that makes you look
as if you have a black eye. Nowadays
you also have to think of the lines you're
to say. You don't get much chance to
think about the thrill of being in the
handsome hero's arms.
I HAVEN'T found it possible to get a
kick out of a kissing scene since
the very first one — and that was a nov-
elty. I ask you — how can you thrill to a
kiss when it's work? How can you aban-
don yourself to a kiss when fifty people
on the set are watching you, coldly and
critically, wondering if you'll get it in
one take? Also, don't forget there's a
time limit to every kiss these days. The
censors hold a stop-watch on you. Back-
breaking embraces are only a memory
now. So are horizontal love scenes — like
those that helped to make John Gilbert
famous."
More soberly, she added:
"If you're serious about acting, you
take love scenes seriously — but no more
seriously than you take any other scenes.
They're all part of your job. You can't
afford to be self-conscious about them.
"Love scenes used to be much tougher
to do in silent days than they are now,
even with dialogue added. You weren't
allowed to express love as you would
naturally express it. Directors operated
on the theory that anyone who was a
movie actress was beautiful, but dumb —
and needed guidance every inch of the
way through an emotional scene. 'Now
turn toward him,' the director would say.
'Now look in his eyes. Now part your
lips. Now throw your arms around his
neck. Now kiss him. Now close your
eyes in ecstasy.' That sort of thing was
maddening. The talkies have done one
thing. They've shut up the directors
when the camera is actually grinding.
"In the old days, there was more to-do
about getting in the mood for a love
scene. There had to be mood music on
the sidelines through the scene. The
music was supplied by a trio, usually a
violin, a piano and a cello. But if you
were making a B picture, you had to do
without the cello. Sometimes they played
classical music; sometimes popular stuff.
I remember my favorite mood-producer
for a long time was 'Songs My Mother
Taught Me.' During 'Beau Brummel,'
Barrymore and I registered emotion to
the tune of "Waters of Minnetonka.'
"We weren't given lines to say in si-
lent days. Sometimes we didn't even
know what the subtitles would be. We
made up our own dialogue as we went
along. I understand lip-readers had a lot
of fun, discovering what lovers actually
said in their romantic moments.
"When talkies came along I found my-
self out of a job. So I went on the
stage. Then Hollywood wanted me back
— at $200 more a week than I had been
getting before, even though I was still
the same girl, with the same voice, the
same everything, a Hollywood said, sur-
prised, 'Why, the girl can act!'
"I say: If a girl can stick around long
enough, she can't help but learn a lot
about acting, just by keeping up with
the changes in love."
She has something there.
64
MODERN SCREEN
INFORMATION DESK
(Continued from page 11)
Linda Conniston, Framingham, Mass.
Virginia Bruce, christened Virginia
Briggs, is literally Lady Luck's favorite
godchild. She was signed for a film
contract when a Hollywood director
spotted her walking to high school one
day! She's five feet six and one-half
inches tall and weighs 123 pounds, has
blonde hair, milky white complexion and
large blue eyes. She never diets to keep
that perfect figure, but exercises by swim-
ming, tennis and riding. Her hubby's J.
Walter Ruben, prominent director. Her
next picture is "The Invisible Woman"
with John Barrymore and Charlie Rug-
gles . . . 'Tis still just a rumor that
Dennis Morgan and wife have split. Their
friends are hoping for a patch-up.
Jane Chappell, Canajoharie, N. Y. Yes,
it's true that Judith Barrett and Andrea
Leeds are expecting family additions in
the near future . . . Most of the stars not
only read their fan mail but actually an-
swer the most interesting letters received.
Some, such as Claudette Colbert, Mickey
Rooney and John Hubbard reply to prac-
tically every single fan!
Want to see your own Hollywood honey
in our GALLERY SECTION? Just send
us his or her name on the coupon be-
low, then watch the next few issues!
Information Desk, Modern Screen
149 Madison Ave., New York City
I'd like to see a gallery picture of
in a forthcoming issue of Modern Screen.
Name
Street
City State
IT'S ALL OVER
OUT THE SHOUTING
(Continued from page 41)
the most potent box-office name, star-
ring in three smash films out of four.
Claudette Colbert solidified her posi-
tion pleasantly by way of two smashes,
"Boom Town" and "Arise, My Love."
Hedy Lamarr started off the year in
the doghouse, trying to get a raise out
of Metro. She went back to work with-
out the raise after a couple of weeks,
and has been a good little girl ever since.
A lot of people still believe in Hedy,
but a lot of others are reaching the
"show me" stage.
William Powell got back into action
after a lengthy illness and proved him-
self better than ever in "I Love You
Again," a smasheroo.
Myrna Loy had an okay year, but her
friends will begin to worry soon if there
isn't a distinct pick-up. Bob Burns prac-
tically washed himself out of pictures
with a couple of lamentably bad scripts.
Loretta Young is picking her own
parts these days and doing it very well
indeed, thank you. Jean Arthur ditto
and not so successfully.
Ginger Rogers is still in the front
row, despite a couple of pictures which
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got mixed reactions. Ginger had a little
trouble adjusting herself to the dizzy
heights she has reached in the past
couple of years, but all she needs now
is a picture or two.
Mary Martin is a girl who probably
will become tremendously important in
1941. She's rising very rapidly. Joel
McCrea had the best year of his career,
winding up with a sensational perform-
ance in "Foreign Correspondent." From
present plans, it would seem that he
will continue right on and up next year.
(^ARY GRANT is probably the most
^ sought-after actor in town, from a
casting standpoint. Everybody wants him,
which probably explains why he was so
badly miscast in "The Howards of Vir-
ginia." In spite of this, he had a good
year and should continue on the up-
grade.
Jackie Cooper is rapidly building him-
self into one of the top names, at the
same time proving that he is a solid and
capable actor. He seems to have passed
the awkward age, and 1941 should see
him firmly entrench himself.
Betty Field who played in four nicely
varied films is another youngster who
should zoom 'way, 'way up.
Rosalind Russell had the best year of
her career, but right now there are
disturbing rumors floating around to the
effect that she would like to abandon
comedy and try being a glamour girl.
Please don't do that to us, Roz honey.
Jimmy Stewart remained one of the
front row lads, with three very nice
performances, and has nothing to worry
about. James Cagney did well, and even
strengthened his position somewhat by
an extra fine performance in "City for
Conquest." Mickey Rooney had another
good, solid year.
Nancy Kelly started out with a big
boom, but got nowhere fast; just couldn't
get the right pictures. Lucille Ball is a
girl on the way up and one to watch.
After a couple of years of solid ground-
ing in the minor leagues, she has finally
hit the big time.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is still flounder-
ing. A grand guy, Doug, but too am-
bitious, seemingly. He wants to be a
director, he wants to be a producer—
meantime his work as an actor is suf-
fering.
Madeleine Carroll had a very good
year in spite of herself. She is in seri-
ous trouble because she has to go hungry
practically all the time in order not to
look fat in pictures. This sometimes
makes her irritable and hard to handle.
Also the war, and the fact that her
sweetheart is in France, and her family
in England, has given her the jitters
through most of the year.
Edward G. Robinson, after a temporary
eclipse, climbed back to the front row
and, in fact, forged considerably ahead
in his career. Vivien Leigh failed to
consolidate her "GWTW" position and
stepped considerably backward during
JANUARY, 1941
65
1940, with only one picture, "Waterloo
Bridge." .
Joan Fontaine and her sister, Olivia de
Havilland, had similar years. Olivia start-
ed off absolutely on top of the bus as
a result of her work in "GWTW," so the
first crack out of the box she turned
down a couple of scripts at Warners,
insisting that she was not going to be
shoved into just anything, but would
pick her parts carefully. As a result
she appeared in only one picture during
the year and is in danger of being for-
gotten if she doesn't get back into the
public eye pretty quickly.
Miriam H
eras to
a paraso
Carter in
66
opkins turns
leg-o-mutton
I to play
The Lady W
back
a
few
sleeves and
Mrs. Leslie
ith Red Hair."
JOAN FONTAINE, on the other hand,
stepped out of limbo early in 1940
with her first important characteriza-
tion in "Rebecca." The impression
among critics is that her good work
there was directly traceable to Alfred
Hitchcock, her director, and not to her-
self but we will have to wait until she
makes another picture to find out— and
she isn't making any. She turned down
"Back Street" as unsuitable, although
Margaret Sullavan was glad to grab it
on the rebound. Joan's future and her
public all will depend on what, it any-
thing, she does next.
Ray Milland is coming up fast and had
an excellent year, picking up some oi
the marbles that Cary Grant was too
busy to play with. Ray needs direction
and has a terrible habit of forgetting to
watch his wardrobe but, nevertheless, he
ought to move way up in the near future.
Ellen Drew is moving forward, alter
a fair to middling year. 1941 should
establish her.
George Sanders and Thomas Mitchell
are two of the fastest climbing men in
Hollywood. Both of them made tre-
mendous strides during the year, and
both have made themselves practically
indispensable to the Hollywood scene.
Fred MacMurray had a difficult year,
mostly from lack of material, but is do-
ing okay as the year finishes. Bmg
Crosby goes merrily on, way up m front.
Dorothy Lamour continues to ride the
sarong trail to box-office success.
Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Jack Oakie
had excellent years, all three of them
moving several notches upward in the
parade, despite the fact that comedians
generally (Eddie Cantor, Joe E. Brown,
Joe Penner, the Ritz Brothers) had a
very difficult time of it. ,
Tyrone Power slipped considerably,
but his studio thinks that he will make
a new and important impression on his
fans in "The Mark of Zorro," "Blood and
Sand" and pictures of that sort; swash-
buckling, colorful, full of action. Its an
experiment, of course, and may do the
tr Joan Crawford had her best year in
a half dozen or so, largely due to a
change of pace. George Murphy is a
young man very much worth watching.
He's never had a really important film
break, but when just the right picture
comes along, watch his smoke.
Ida Lupino is the surprise girl of the
year Every once in a while Hollywood
re-discovers Ida, says "ah," and begins
raving about her future— but nothing
happens. During the past year she was
discovered again, but this time it looks
as though it may stick. She got her
break in "They Drive By Night," a sur-
prising bit of casting in which Ida was
given the sexy dame role opposite Ann
Sheridan. Ida should go places in 1941,
but one gets tired of predicting this.
Scanning the news of 1940, we find
that Warners, as usual, had trouble
with its contract players. A half dozen
of them including John Garfield, Eddie
Albert, Olivia de Havilland and Ann
Sheridan drew suspensions, but the cute
thing was that Jimmy Cagney, always a
stormy rebel, went peacefully through
the whole year!
Warners was not alone. Metro had
some difficulty with players, Lana Turner
drawing one suspension and Hedy La-
marr another. Fox had battles with Don
Ameche, Jed Prouty and Alice Faye,
while Paramount battled with William
Holden and John Howard— the latter
eventually packing up and leaving the
lot. Not to be overlooked are the Muni
and Temple affairs. Over at Warners it
got to be a gag that every time Paul
Muni scratched his beard the studio lost
million dollars. Nevertheless, it was
admitted that Muni films brought
Warners and the movie business as a
whole a great deal of honor and dignity.
The studio and Muni couldn't agree on
scripts and the actor left. He had no
trouble getting another job, going im-
mediately to Fox— whereupon Warners
handed his beard to Eddie Robinson.
The Temple affair is a bit more of a
problem. For five years or so, the
youngster has been the most potent box-
office figure in film history. Suddenly
she slipped. "The Blue Bird" was a ter-
rible flop. Is it the kid's fault, or the
studio's? The studio decided to make
the pain short-lived; it paid on the line
for the duration of the contract and
waved the youngster goodbye. A parade
of smash hits and hip-hip-hooray; one
flop and goodbye. That's the movie busi-
ness. Shirley doesn't have another job
as this is being written, but she will have.
And she will go on to bigger and better
films without trouble— she's a real,
trouper.
Hollywood's number one headline
grabber during the past year was John
Barrymore, with Lana Turner and Hedy
Lamarr as the runners-up. John was
the first public example of a great actor
trying as hard as he could to make the
world believe that he had reached his
dotage— and Lana and Hedy were just
two girls who didn't know what they
wanted. They got married, they got di-
vorced, they'll probably be married
again. Not too exciting, but it made
good reading in newspapers full of war.
THE war itself, of course, was tre-
mendously important to Hollywood,
both in a personal and a business way.
For a number of years all the Holly-
wood film companies, with the sole ex-
ception of Warner Brothers, have been
hanging on grimly to a rapidly diminish-
ing market in Germany and finally, to-
wards the end of the year, they all had
to give up. One by one a number of
very profitable markets throughout the
world were taken away from the film
moguls, until today there is practically
none of Europe left, and very little of
That meant a number of serious and
important adjustments on the home lot,
namely, an attempt to develop the South
American market more strongly and a
re-evaluation of home consumption. The
world market (outside of the United
States) amounted to 40-60% of the total
gross of films a couple of years ago.
Obviously, it's quite a sock on the chin
to have to forego this money.
It was good policy only a year or so
ago to make a considerable number of
pictures with various European back-
grounds and locales, but now there are
only two markets which America is
watching in its film production— America
and South America.
Another very interesting development,
a bi-product of the war, was a conscious
MODERN SCREEN
I
attempt by the film companies to get ac-
quainted with America. In the past,
visits of stars and executives to Broad-
way or Chicago have been very occa-
sional, but last year a whole series of
"premieres" in out-of-the-way cities
were arranged and carried through. This
was not completely a new notion, but
during the year this became a custom,
rather than an accident.
Thus, the citizenry of Orange, N. J.,
got the first showing of "Edison, the
, Man," plus a parade of stars; Boise,
j Idaho, got the premiere of "Northwest
Passage"; "Maryland" was shown in Bal-
timore; Salt Lake City got "Brigham
Young"; Denver had "Kit Carson";
"Tugboat Annie" sailed up to Seattle;
Regina, Canada, was proud of "North
West Mounted Police"; San Francisco
| had a first peek at "They Knew What
; They Wanted"; "The Westerner" un-'
j veiled in Dallas; "Knute Rockne" was
honored in South Bend; "Virginia City"
went to Reno; "The Biscuit Eater" to
Albany, Georgia, and "Dark Command
bowed at Lawrence, Kansas.
The procedure proved not only novel
but important; it made various com-
munities even more aware of movies
and it gave the actors and producers a
chance to talk things over with Mr. and
Mrs. General Public and get a better
notion of what was wanted in the way
J of film entertainment. Chalk this up as
I the healthiest and most adult Hollywood
; move to date.
The war has affected surprisingly few
movie personalities. John Farrow, direc-
tor-husband of Maureen O'Sullivan, was
the first to quit the Hollywood scene in
order to join the fighting ranks. David
i Niven, after he offered his services to
his country and was turned down, ran
i into a raft of newspaper sarcasm.
Eventually he had to flee America, a
fugitive from an anti-climax, and prac-
tically had to force himself on the British
Army. A few months later, Richard
Greene found himself in the same pre-
dicament and had to resort to the same
escape.
A half dozen or so other British actors
managed to quit the Hollywood scene
without much publicity or fanfare.
Charles Boyer left his French army uni-
form in France with the collapse of his
country and returned to the movie busi-
ness in Hollywood.
Robert Montgomery hopped into an
ambulance and drove it around the fields
of Flanders for a month or so, then came
home to America. And Madeleine Carroll
managed to drive her studio mildly nuts
by insisting on flying in and out of the
European war games for the sake of a
few minutes with her handsome aviator
j boy friend.
Madeleine, incidentally, was the second
movie person and the first movie person-
ality to feel the ravages of war, her sis-
ter Marguerite having been killed during
a raid on London. Previously, Ralph
Hanbury, the RKO general manager in
England, and his entire family had been
killed by a Nazi bomb. By the time you
read this, Madeleine may again have
Clippered to the war zone. She has said
she intends to, and she has always been
INFORMATION DESK
MODERN SCREEN
149 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y.
Please send me your newly revised chart listing
the heights, ages, birthdays and marriages, etc., of
all the important stars. I enclose 5c (stamps or
coin) to cover cost of mailing.
Name , '
Street ;
City State
a girl to do exactly as she pleases, in
spite of anybody or anything.
The movie company which made the
most consistently worth-while film prod-
ucts during the year was Warner Broth-
ers, with Metro a close second. Warners,
during the year, had not only a greater
number of box-office successes, but also
a greater variety, and what is called
"change of pace." There were prestige
pictures such as "The Magic Bullet" and
"A Dispatch From Reuter's"; there was
genuine entertainment in such pictures
as "City for Conquest" and "My Love
Came Back." And there was sheer box-
office in "All This, And Heaven Too."
TT is a strange coincidence that War-
ners, which once led the field in
musicals, produced no song-and-danc-
eries of importance during the year. The
top studio in the production of musicals
and light comedies during 1940 was
Paramount, with its Bing Crosby, Bob
Hope and Jack Benny films. Paramount,
as a matter of fact, came mighty close
to being the top studio in Hollywood for
the year, pushed into third place only by
the fact that it seems to have the ability
to produce a "Ghost Breakers" one day
and two heartbreakers the next.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in the number
two niche, still manages to keep very
near the top by the strongest roster of
star talent ever to be gathered under one
lion's roar. And Shearer, Crawford,
Gable, Tracy, Rooney and Co. are a
mighty potent antidote to any sort of
depression.
A curious situation developed during
the year when it became evident to all
the studios that there were not enough
leading men available. There were us-
ually plenty of girls to choose from, but
casting males was a distinct problem,
and quite a number of pictures had to
be shifted back and forth before they
could be filmed, because male stars were
unavailable. Considering which fact, it
is interesting to note that the hardest-
working star in Hollywood during 1940
was a girl— Ann Sheridan. She was
starred in five films during the year,
"Castle On The Hudson," "It All Came
True," "Torrid Zone," "They Drive By
Night" and "City for Conquest."
In the next bracket, tied for second
place as the hardest working star in
Hollywood, are six gents and no gals,
all six of them with four star credits
each for the year. They are George
Brent, Brian Aherne, Spencer Tracy,
Gene Autry, Ray Milland and Boris
Karloff.
This is about as good a place as any
to make very clear what the word "star"
means, for no word is more frequently
misused. Actually, a star is a person
whose name appears on the film's title-
sheet ahead of the name of the picture.
Henry Fonda in "The Return of Frank
James" is a star. "Lillian Russell" with
Henry Fonda, on the other hand, means
that Fonda is not a star.
The most interesting new personality
introduced during the year was Martha
Scott, who made her debut in "Our
Town" and who was starred first in "The
Howards of Virginia." Ellen Drew, first
starred in "Christmas in July," is a close
second.
On the male side of the ledger, Dean
Jagger in "Brigham Young" made the
most notable impression, but has yet to
be starred.
The greatest feminine career progress
was made by Ida Lupino.
And to wind up the roll call — among
the males, the greatest progress-makers
were Messrs. Bob Hope and John Wayne.
JANUARY, 1P41
67
HOLLYWOOD'S BANKRUPT GENIUS
(Continued from page 51)
very definite has been set. So who pays
his bills? His agent, who like many
other unpublicized people who know
him, believes in Orson Welles.
It would be effective to say here that
twenty-five-year-old Orson is chastened
by his present encounter with reality.
Effective, but untrue. It would also be
dramatic to say that his personal tastes
are monastically frugal. This, alas, is also
untrue. Welles has an energy of spirit,
mental and physical, which makes chast-
ening an impossibility. He has the fatal-
istic idea that anything can and probably
will happen tomorrow. Today's the day.
He is extravagant in the only way he
cares to be extravagant. Other men in-
vest in yachts, guns, cameras, fishing
tackle, airplanes and cars. Not Welles.
He has a hobby, but it's his work. He is
probably one of the very few men in the
world who don't yearn for a vacation from
what they're doing. Welles wants to do
exactly what he's doing. His tremendous
vitality carries him from one day to the
next with very little of the sleep which
most people crave. He regards sleep as a
flagrant waste of time. He considers four
hours sufficient.
He enjoys fine living, but circumstances
have forced him to give up the eight-hun-
dred-dollar-a-month home he rented in
Brentwood and take a two-room apart-
ment in Beverly Hills. Food is an obses-
sion with him. "You can't pay too much
for good food," he says. Pick out the
best restaurant in town and you'll find
Welles. Or, better yet, find Welles and
you'll have the best restaurant. When he
had his establishment in Brentwood he
ordered meat flown out from the east for
household consumption. Despite recent
reverses he still smokes eighty-five cent
cigars.
Currently he does not drink. He has
become addicted to tea of which he con-
sumes great quantities. A friend gave
him a pint-sized teacup. He keeps this at
the studio and takes time off every after-
noon to indulge.
He employs a chauffeur which may or
may not come under the heading of ex-
travagance. Welles drove a car once and
the experience haunts him. A natural
impatience with the precision of machi-
nery prevented him from driving a car as
a car should be driven. He ran into a
telegraph pole and he hasn't driven since.
A chauffeur, therefore, should be listed
under personal necessities.
WELLES is working, but he's broke.
By this I mean that the picture is
being shot. It isn't another Hollywood
rumor. I saw it with my own eyes.
"Heart of Darkness" was discarded be-
cause RKO dubbed it sensational to the
point of being shocking. "Smiler With
the Knife" was discarded for two reasons.
First, Welles cast himself as the villain
and, 'second, Carole Lombard, for whom
the heroine's role was designed, refused to
play in it at all.
"Why should I?" she said. "If it's good,
Welles gets all the credit. If it's bad,
well — " Lombard is tops, why should she
take a chance? But "Citizen Kane" evi-
dently fills the bill.
Welles had his first success at the age
of seven when he played the White Rab-
bit in a Chicago department store adver-
tising stunt. He went from there to
several years of child parts in the Chi-
cago Opera Company, a period termi-
nated when Martinelli, as Samson, found
him too heavy to lift. At eleven he was
music critic for a local newspaper. At
twelve he was lecturing his own gram-
mar school on art.
At sixteen he played character roles
(mostly of men past fifty) for the edifica-
tion and delight of Irish audiences in a
Dublin theatre. At seventeen he visited
Africa and house guested with a native
chieftain while he wrote a school edition
of Shakespeare. At eighteen he was
trouping with Katharine Cornell. At
twenty-one he had his own repertory
theatre in New York.
His success in radio was instantaneous.
Born with a knack for hair-raising char-
acterizations, he frightened people^ for
many months as the voice of "The
Shadow." Everyone knows, of course,
how he scared the wits out of those who
Virginia Grey believes that leading
ladies should return to the soil be-
tween films, and illustrates her point
on her San Fernando Valley ranch.
listened to his broadcast of the invasion
from Mars.
His favorite costume is a pair of bath-
ing trunks and a bathrobe. He sleeps in
topless pajamas personally designed by
Orson. His neckties are few and color-
ful. He would rather go barefooted but
grudgingly concedes to shoes.
He hates exercise. A giant of a man,
weighing two hundred pounds and loom-
ing well over six feet, he would seem a
natural for any sort of sport. Golf he
considers idiotic. He can swim and ride
but declines to do either. He flies of ne-
cessity but has no desire to pilot a plane
of his own. He once took a trip through
Scotland and Ireland in a donkey cart,
and he contends that this is the closest
he's ever come to undue physical activity.
His friends, who last year called him
Monstro, now call him Pancho. There
may be some connection between this
and the fact that his name is linked ro-
mantically with that of Dolores Del Rio,
estranged wife of art director, Cedric
Gibbons. The beautiful Mexican actress
is a runner-up for the title of Holly-
wood's Best Dressed Woman. Just how
this will effect Hollywood's most casually
dressed man remains to be seen.
The rumors about Welles' tempera-
ment are never started by those who
work with him. He has a peculiar sys-
tem of discipline. He hangs upon the
studio wall a report card bearing the
names of the entire cast. When anyone
misbehaves, a black star is pasted next
to the culprit's name. Some of the crimes
listed are telling dull stories, muffing
lines and inability to ad lib during party
scenes. Good Deeds are limited to gifts,
each of which merits a gold star.
MEANWHILE bills roll in. He sup-
ports a destitute actor now ma-
rooned in Buffalo because, as he says,
"The man has to eat, doesn't he?" He
supports his two-year-old daughter,
Christopher, for whom he is also buying
an annuity. He pays the expenses of a
New York, Chicago and Los Angeles
office for Orson Welles, Inc., and he
weekly hands out salaries to his personal
staff of legal and financial advisers,
though he rarely takes their advice.
When "Citizen Kane" is finished, he
will receive whatever remains of the
hundred and fifty thousand dollars prom-
ised him, plus a small percentage of the
profits of the picture. Government taxes
will take their share of his share and the
agent will be paid back. When simple
mathematics have finished with the sum,
it is very possible that there won't be
much left for Orson Welles.
Far from being worried Welles has
guaranteed to make his second picture
for nothing, purely on a percentage basis.
The third picture, which is also men-
tioned in his contract, is subject to an
arrangement not yet planned. Up to his
ears in debt and having spent every cent
of his own money, it is no wonder that
Welles grins at the legends which have
sprung up about him.
Wasteful! Lavish! Extravagant! He
has been publicized from Vine Street to
Culver City as the glittering young man
who is really putting something over on
Hollywood. "One year on salary before
the cameras even began to grind," they
say.
But Welles doesn't care. He s doing
what he wants to do and, from the looks
of things at RKO, he's doing it well.
YIPPEE, FANS!
At last we have it for you — that bio-
graphical chart of your favorite "westerns
that you've been begging for! Imagine hav-
ing at your fingertips the real names, birth-
places, birthdates, heights, weights, how
they got their start and studio addresses of
over sixty of those rough-riding heroes, leer-
ing villains and wide-eyed heroines of your
pet "horse opries!" Made up in a most
attractive form, it will make your album
proud as anything. Just send five cents in
coin or stamps with the coupon below and
your chart is as good as lassoed!
Information Desk. Modern Screen
149 Madison Ave., New York City
I am enclosing five cents in stamps or
coin for which kindly send me your chart
of the Western Stars.
Name
Street
City State . . .. . .
Please print name and address plainly
■
68
MOrERN SCREEN
ACROSS
1. Lovely actress
pictured
6. Dolores tello
9. Heroine of "The
Howards Of Vir-
ginia"
14. Duchess in "All
This, And Heaven
Too'!
15. Fuss
16. Star of "Charlie
Chan At The
Wax Museum"
17. Siren in "Strike
Up The Band"
18. Femme in "He
Stayed For
Breakfast"
21. Beverages
23. Actress Wil-
son
24. English actress in
"The Letter"
25. Robert Wild
27. A girl's name
29. Exclamations of
wonder
30. Deanna's pal in
"Spring Parade"
31. Comedienne in
"Comin' Round
The Mountain"
33. Lady in "Wagons
Westward"
36. Draws closer
38. Sad-faced comic
40. Big guy in "Tug-
boat Annie Sails
Again"
42. ne Overman
43. Cornelia
Skinner
44. Birthmonth of 1
across: abbr.
47. French coin
48. Lillian - - - nell
49. Bud Abbott's
comic partner
52. Crown
54. Sisters in "Ar-
gentine Nights"
56. An epic poem
69.
70.
73.
78.
57. Football hero in
"Knute Rockne-
All American"
58. Male lead of
"Second Chorus'
62. Obtruder
65. "The Jo---
Family"
66. Female ruff
67. "Meet John - - -"
68. Bitter vetch
Heroine ef
"Arizona"
Standing Room
Only: abbr.
_ . Movie lights
75. Lamour's costume
in "Moon Over
Burma"
She's in "The
Villain Still Pur-
sued Her"
80. Director of "They
Knew What They
Wanted"
84. Maid in "He
Stayed For
Breakfast"
85. Merited
87. Husk of wheat
89. Wine cup
90. Singer in "New
Moon"
92. "The Man With
— - Lives"
93. Played "Brigham
Young"
94. Kiln
95. Period of time
Last name of 1
across
Shakespeare's
home
Mountain ridge
Goddess of dawn
Star in "Daytime
Wife"
105. Beneath
106. 506: rom. num.
107. Star of "The Re
turn Of Frank
James"
97.
99.
100.
102.
103.
1. Girl in "Captain
Caution"
2. Hotels
3. By birth
4. - - ana Lewis
5. Star of "Magic
In Music"
6. Boy's name
7. Poem
8. She's in "Dulcy"
9. Deanna's leading
man in "Nice
Girl"
10. Together: prefix
11. Mary B - - - nd
12. Membrane
Heroine of "Dark
Command"
Male star in
"Star Dust"
Priscilla Lane's
13
17
19
20. Sailors
22. Term in trigo-
nometry
23. Actor Carrillo's
first name
24. Entangle
26. A "pert" actress
28. Salt
30. Funny man in
"Love Thy
Neighbor"
31. She's in "Four
Mothers"
32. Scotch lord
35. "The Phila-
delph - - Story"
Comic in "Cap-
tain Caution"
Pronoun
Fruit of the oak
Peruvian plant
Sea
Grove
Jogs
49. Rent
50. Possessor
51. Employers
53. Siren in "Honey-
moon For Three"
55. Orson Welles'
studio
59. Star of "My Fa-
vorite Wife"
60. Popular actor in
"Santa Fe Trail"
61. Even: poet.
62. Girl in "High
Sierra"
63. Actor in "Flot-
sam"
64. Nut
69. - - Ann Sayers
70. Scorned
71. Free
72. "Charter Pil - -"
74. Senior: abbr.
75. Cora Collins' mid-
dle name
76. Richard Aden's
screen partner
77. Raft
78. "Irene"
79. Walter
81. Palatable
82. Augury
83. Gloria's sis in
"Little Bit Of
Heaven"
86. What Roy Rogers
is
88. ----- Morgan
91. Story
93. Newcomer in
"Too Many Girls'
94. Above
96. Color
98. November: abbr.
99. Beard of wheat
101. Our star's birth-
place: Dallas,
- - xas
104. Whirlwind off the
Faro Islands
MAKE-UP
BUDGET
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ELMO • PHILADELPHIA • SAN FRANCISCO
JANUARY, 1941
69
y Rooms
ROUGHS/
IT'S IDLE GOSSIP
(Continued from page 37)
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Pertussin is amazingly
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completed. Single subjects if desired. Free Bulletin on request.
American School, Dept. H-114, Prexel at 58th, Chicago
Copyright 1940, In'
the latest bulletins from writhing Europe,
slump in their chairs and growl: "What
the hell's the use of writing a column?
Who gives a damn if Miss A. breaks her
neck or marries a man with vegetable
juice in his veins?"
For a while Bette was infected with
the same disease. "Why do I kill myself
making this scene? What can it possibly
matter in a world gone mad?"
She snapped out of it— partly through
common sense, partly through the pre-
miere of "All This, And Heaven, Too.
YEARS ago .she attended the preview
of her second picture. She was just
an ingenue and small responsibility
rested on her, but she found the ex-
perience so nerve-racking that she
vowed she'd never attend another. Her
family would go to her previews, while
Bette chewed her fingers at home and
waited for them to report.
A premiere differs from a preview. It s
a gala first night, all jewels and furs and
glitter. Holding it at the Carthay Circle
Theatre is like stamping the picture a
diamond of the first water. Bleachers,
built round the circle, are filled before
noon. The crowds munch sandwiches
and patiently wait for night to work its
magic. Bette had heard of these phe-
nomena, but never seen them. "Oh, yes,"
she'd thought. "Uh-huh, I suppose so,
discounting three-quarters of it as Holly-
wood fantasy.
It was her first picture to be premiered
at the Carthay. Such an occasion, minus
the presence of its stars, is like an eye
without light. Boyer was going. The
studio wanted Bette there, too. She de-
cided she'd be a nice girl and say yes.
When the day came, nobody felt very
festive. The newspapers bannered head-
lines: FRANCE FALLS. Hollywood lay
deep in gloom. Perhaps for the first time
within memory, something had happened
which was more important to the indus-
try than itself. Boyer arrived, looking
pale green. Bette, spared the ultimate
thrust of anguish that must have been
his, felt miserable enough.
She stepped out of the car, and
gasped. Tier on tier they rose, a solid
mass of faces, gleaming white under
the searchlights. She was unprepared for
the sight, and equally unprepared for the
roar that followed— as the crowd spied
her and rose to its feet cheering.
For a moment she stood, her arm in
that of Johnny Favor, her young cousin
and escort, her face a quivering mirror
of mixed emotions. Then instead of
turning into the long, canopied lane that
leads to the theatre, she moved toward
the grandstands. Until it was time for
the picture to start, she stayed out there,
shaking hands with those she could reach,
signing autograph books, lifting her shin-
ing face, unashamed of her falling tears,
toward the upper rows.
"Quaint," murmured a colleague, who d
have given her eyeteeth for something
similar, "but a little undignified, darling,
don't you think?"
"Maybe," darling agreed cheerfully.
"Myself, if people yell for me, God bless
'em, I'm undignified enough to run all
the way to China, yelling right back!"
The rest of the evening was less pleas-
ant. A kind of shudder ran through the
theatre as the words PARIS, FRANCE,
were thrown on the screen. Background
shots of the city of light were rendered
poignant through the knowledge that it
was taken by the forces of darkness.
Just the same, Bette went back to
work next day both humbled and re-
freshed. "If that's how they feel about
you," she resolved, "then you've darn
well got to kill yourself, making better
scenes. Your routine may not seem im-
portant. What is important is that we
keep on going. If the British can do it,
with their world in literal ruins around
them, then phooey to us for whining
before we're touched!"
Last year Bette bought two houses.
She's a child of the East. She loves its
changing skies, the gold and scarlet of
fall, the winter snows, the bare trees
breaking into green with the spring.
California has charms but they don't
include the aforementioned, and Bette
has never lost her nostalgia for them.
"I always said I'd never buy a house
in Hollywood because of a dread, com-
pletely childish and unreasoning, that it
would tie me to the West. Then I found
this place in New Hampshire, and the
moment it was mine I lost that other
silly fear and promptly bought a house
in Glendale for practical reasons. I was
tired of moving around, tired of using
other people's furniture. It's a small
brick house, pseudo-Tudor, five minutes
from the studio, and the agent clinched it
by telling me how easy it would be to
sell when the movies decided to throw
me out."
On finishing "The Letter" early in July,
she dashed to New Hampshire. The house
she bought there is near Franconia set
among ninety acres of woods. Abetted
by her mother and Ted Macomber, a
decorator, she spent three happy months
making it over, adding a kitchen, garages
and bedrooms, turning it into a place
that will be habitable all year round, for
she plans some day to make it her per-
manent home. At the local shops they
unearthed treasures in cherry wood, and
amazed the townsfolk by importing a
Pullman lavatory from California.
THEY'RE silent," explains Bette
gravely, "and they've never been
heard of, let alone seen, in the north
country. .The furor was terrific. There
were long articles in the papers, and
people gathered in knots to talk it over.
One morning before we were in the
house, I arrived early and heard this
piercing whisper: 'Jess! C'mon up and
see the Pullman lavatory.' I sneaked
behind a tree and giggled to myself until
they'd gone."
She'll be furiously disappointed if
"January Heights" isn't finished in time
to let her spend Christmas at Butternut,
and she'll be irked with Butternut unless
it snows. It's years, she says wistfully,
since she's had a snowy Christmas. Ski-
ing interests her only moderately. Should
there be a small slope handy, she'll prob-
ably use it to practice falling flat on her
face. What she really craves is a return
to childhood — red cap and mittens, to-
boggans and bellywhoppers, brilliant
blue overhead and crunching white be-
low, the swoop that tears the breath
from your body, the long pull up, going
home to crumpets and tea at dusk.
Only one week of her holiday was
spent in New York — to see plays and
people. Definitely not to shop. Shopping
for clothes bores her. When she poses for
fashion pictures at the studio, she gen-
erally finds two or three numbers she
likes and buys them. Simple, tailored
70
MODERN SCREEN
things are the only ones that tempt her.
She prefers dark clothes to bright and
goes in for gaiety only in pajamas. She
avoids eccentric styles — hates herself in
them and finds them too quickly dated.
She grows fond of a dress or suit and
won't give it up often wearing it for two
or three years. There's a Mr. Falkenstein
who designs irresistible sports clothes
and shows them in California twice a
year. "Orry-Kelly took me to him, blast
his hide," says Bette softly but with
vehemence. "Did you ever see a nail
try to get away from a magnet? That's
me and Mr. Falkenstein's clothes." Other-
wise Bette can take clothes or leave 'em.
APART from the general excitement of
. rebuilding and furnishing her home,
Bette's summer was further enlivened
by the arrival of Bill Jones. Bill is fif-
teen and his name isn't Bill Jones. We're
calling him that because Bette feels that
his family may consider him too young
for publicity.
Not that Bill did anything reprehen-
sible. On the contrary. He showed him-
self a lad of character throughout. A
columnist with imagination and no ma-
terial ran an item indicating that Bette
was about to start a dramatic school at
Butternut, pupils welcome. Bill, who
wants to be a director, read the item and
announced to his family that he aimed
to train under Miss Davis. They ex-
postulated to no avail and finally washed
their hands of the whole affair.
"It will teach you one lesson any-
way," they assured him. "You'll never
get within ten miles of Miss Davis."
He boarded a bus in New York and
traveled seventeen hours, sitting up all
night. Bette's mother came on him as
he climbed the hill to the house, eager-
eyed and fresh for all his vigil, an extra
pair of trousers, neatly pressed, over one
arm and a notebook in the other hand.
"I've come to study in Miss Davis'
school," he told her. It was she who had
to break the news that there was no
school. When Bette came in Bill was
sitting on the living room couch, the
extra pair of trousers crumpled at his
feet, bawling his eyes out.
She sat down beside him. She told him
of her own disappointments. She said
that a setback should serve as a spur
and a challenge. She concluded by ex-
pressing her admiration for his gumption.
"With so much of it at your age, you're
likely to do great things some day. And
I'll probably come around begging you
for a job as an old character woman."
That made him laugh. "All right, laugh
your head off," said Bette. "But funnier
things have happened in this business."
They fed him and saw him off on the
bus. He was quite cheerful again by that
time. As the bus started rolling he
stuck his head out of the window. "Wish
you could see my family's face," he
yelled, "when I tell 'em I sat right next
to Bette. Boy, will that be something!"
He wrote her a letter, describing the
"family's face" and including an earnest
pledge that, thanks to her, his feet were
planted more firmly than ever in his
chosen path. Perhaps her reply will be
found some day among the mementos of
a famous theatrical man. The gist of it
was what she'd often told herself: "If
you want to do it badly enough, you'll
do it."
There was one thing Bette wouldn't
talk about. When the name of her ex-
husband was mentioned, she shook her
head. Maybe I imagined that a new
sparkle came into her eyes. Maybe I
imagined that she still hopes they'll get
together and that she won't take other
men seriously till the hope is gone. Lik-
ing both Bette and Ham, maybe all this
is something I doped out from nothing
Only I doubt it.
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College boys Fred Astoire and Burgess Meredith turn themselves inside out
for the favor of Paulette Goddard in the rollicking film, "Second Chorus."
cnmniE
49 EAST 21st STREET, N. Y. C
> Complete with a*wS&v
* '"*«. brush f^'fCmeS
ana vantty. \S]>*K^5wpl2y
JANUARY, 1941
71
MOVIE SCOREBOARD
(200 pictures rated this month)
It surely is heartening
credit has come where
for Carole Landis has
role in Hal Roach's
comedy, "Road
to se
credit
the
new
e that
is due
leading
Nicking
Show."
Turn to our valuable Scoreboard when you're in doubt about what movie to see. The
"general rating" is the average rating of our critic and the authoritative newspaper
critics all over the country. 4* means very good; 3*, good; 2*, fair: 1*. poor.
C denotes that the picture is recommended for children as well as adults. Asterisk
shows that only Modern Screen rating is given on film not yet reviewed by news-
papers as we go to press.
General
Picture Rating
Alias the Deacon (Universal) • ^Y!L
All This, and Heaven Too (Warners). 4*
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (M-G-M) J*
Angel From Texas, An (Warners). 2*
*Angels Over Broadway (Columbia) 2/iI
Anne of Windy Poplars (RKO) 2*
Argentine Nights (Universal) 2/2*
Arise, My Love (Paramount) • J*
Bad Men of Carson City (Universal) 2*
Beyond Tomorrow (RKO) 21/2*
Biscuit Eater, The (Paramount)
Black Diamonds (Universal) „;J
Boom Town (M-G-M) •
Boys from Syracuse, The (Universal). • • ••• »J
Brigham Young— Frontiersman (20th Century-Fox). 3*
Brother Orchid (Warners) ■
Calling Philo Vance (Warners).. §V2*
Captain Caution (United Artists) 2/2*
Captain Is a Lady, The (M-G-M). .... • ........ ZVz*
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (20th Century-
pox) 2V2*
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (20th Century-Fox). 3*
"Christmas in July (Paramount) J>*
City for Conauest (Warners) 3/2*
Colorado (Republic) • ■ • • 2 /2*
Comin' Round the Mountain (Paramount) 2*
Cowboy From Texas (Republic) 2*
Cross Country Romance (RKO)
Dance, Girl, Dance (RKO). £*
*Dancing on a Dime (Paramount) 2-jr
Devil's Island (Warners)... Ǥ*
Diamond Frontier (Universal).. ■ 9i/I
"Dispatch From Reuter's, A (Warners). 3'/2*
Dr. Christian Meets The Women (RKO) 2*
Dr. Kildare Goes Home (M-G-M). . . . .. »*
Down Argentine Way (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Earl of Puddlestone (Republic) 2*
Earthbound (20th Century-Fox) **
Edison, the Man (M-G-M) 3V?*
Flight Angels (Warners) 2/2*
Flowing Gold (Warners) J*
Foreign Correspondent (United Artists) 4*
Four Sons (20th Century-Fox) . • • • 3*
Free, Blonde and 21 (20th Century-Fox) 2*
French Without Tears (Paramount).. 2/2*
Gambling on the High Seas (Warners). 2/2*
Gay Caballero, The (20th Century-Fox) 2Vi*
Ghost Breakers, The (Paramount).... •• 3*
Girl from Avenue A (20th Century-Fox) C 2*
Girl from God's Country (Republic) **
Girl from Havana, The (Republic) 2/2*
Girl in 313 (20th Century-Fox) 2 /2*
Gold Rush Maisie (M-G-M). 2V2*
Gone With the Wind (M-G-M). 4*
Grapes of Wrath, The (20th Century-Fox) 4*
Great Dictator, The (United Artists) 3 /2*
Great McGinty, The (Paramount).... 3/2*
Great Profile, The (20th Century-Fox) 2V2*
He Stayed for Breakfast (Columbia) 2/2*
Hidden Gold (Paramount) 2/2*
Hired Wife (Universal). ... . . . • • 3*
Honeymoon Deferred (Universal) Il
Hot Steel (Universal). . . ...... • • • • • * J
House of Seven Gables (Universal).. 2/2*
Howards of Virginia, The (Columbia) 3/2*
"Hullabaloo (M-G-M) 2*
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
(Universal) • •• 2*
If I Had My Way (Universal) <- 3*
I Love You Again (M-G-M) 3*
I Married Adventure (Columbia) -i/'I
I'm Still Alive (RKO).... 2Vi*
In Old Missouri (Republic) £*
Irene (RKO) f*
Isle of Destiny (RKO). ...... • 2*
I Take This Woman (M-G-M) 2*
I Want A Divorce (Paramount) • ■ • • 3*
I Was an Adventuress (20th Century-Fox) 2 /2*
Knute Rockne— All American (Warners) 3/2*
La Conga Nights (Universal) 2*
Ladies Must Live (Warners) **
Last Alarm, The (Monogram)... 2*
Lillian Russell (20th Century-Fox) • 3*
"Little Bit of Heaven (Universal). t 3*
Little Old New York (20th Century-Fcx). 2*
Long Voyage Home, The (United Artists) 4*
Lucky Cisco Kid (20th Century-Fox) 3*
Lucky Partners (RKO). ........ • |*
Mad Men of Europe (Columbia)........ 2*
Ma! He's Making Eyes At Me (Universal) 2'/2*
Man I Married, The (20th Century-Fox). . . 3*
Man Who Talked Too Much, The (Warners) 2V2*
Maryland (20th Century-Fox) 3/2*
. General
Picture Rating
Meet the Wildcat (Universal) 2Vi*
Men Against the Sky (RKO) 3*
Midnight (Paramount) ■
Money and the Woman (Warners)
"Moon Over Burma (Paramount) 2V2*
Mortal Storm, The (M-G-M) 4*
Mummy's Hand, The (Universal) '$2.
Murder in the Air (Warners) 2*
My Favorite Wife (RKO) 3*
My Little Chickadee (Universal) 2V2*
My Love Came Back (Warners) 1/?*
My Son, My Son (United Artists) 3V2*
New Moon (M-G-M) 3*
"North West Mounted Police (Paramount) 3V2*
Northwest Passage (M-G-M) 4*
No Time for Comedy (Warners) 3*
Oklahoma Kid, The (Warners) 3*
Oklahoma Renegades (Republic) 2/2*
One Crowded Night (RKO) ■• 2*
One Million B. C. (United Artists) C 3*
Opened by Mistake (Paramount) 2V2*
Our Town (United Artists) •• 4*
Out West With The Peppers (Columbia) C 2*
Pastor Hall (United Artists) 3%*
Phantom Raiders (M-G-M) 2*
Pier 13 (20th Century-Fox) V2Vii
Pinocchio (RKO) • C 4*
Pioneers of the Frontier (Columbia)
Pop Always Pays (RKO) 2%*
Prairie Law (RKO) , 2*
Pride and Prejudice (M-G-M) 3 /2*
Public Deb No. 1 (20th Century-Fox) 2*
Quarterback, The (Paramount) 21/li
Queen of the Mob (Paramount) 3*
Ragtime Cowboy Joe (Universal).... ""AV^i
Ramparts We Watch, The (March of Time-RKO). 3V2*
Rangers of Fortune (Paramount) 3*
Rebecca (United Artists) 4*
Rhythm on the River (Paramount) I}?!
Road to Singapore, The (Paramount) 2V2*
Safari (Paramount) 2'4^
Sailor's Lady (20th Century-Fox).. „,2*
Saint's Double Trouble, The (RKO) 2V2*
Saint Takes Over, The (RKO) 2V2*
Sea Hawk, The (Warners) 3V2*
Sidewalks of London (Paramount Release) 3*
Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot (Republic) 2*
Slightly Honorable (United Artists) 3*
South of Pago Pago (United Artists) 2Y2*
South to Karanga (Universal) ?/?*
So You Won't Talk? (Columbia) y%Y?Z
Spirit of Culver, The (Universal) C 2y2*
Sporting Blood (M-G-M) r 41
Spring Parade (Universal) ................ C 3*
Stanley and Livingstone (20th Century-Fox) 3J/2*
Star Dust (20th Century-Fox) 2l/2*
Stranger on the Third Floor (RKO) • • 3 *
Strike Up the Band (M-G-M).. C 3V2*
Stronger Than Desire (M-G-M) 2V2*
Susan and God (M-G-M) ^3 41
Swiss Family Robinson (RKO) C 3*
They Drive by Night (Warners) 3*
They Knew What They Wanted (RKO) 3V2*
"Thief of Bagdad, The (United 'Artists) 3V2*
"Third Finger, Left Hand (M-G-M) •• 3*
Those Were the Days (Paramount) C 2'/2*
Three Faces West (Republic). • •■ f*
Three Smart Girls Grow Up (Universal) C 3*
Thundering Frontier (Columbia) ■• 2*
Tom Brown's School Days (RKO) C 3*
"Too Many Girls (RKO) f*
Torrid Zone (Warners) 3*
Tower of London (Universal) 2*
Triple Justice (RKO) ■•■ • 0]/2*
"Tugboat Annie Sails Again (Warners) 2'/2*
Turnabout (United Artists) 3*
Twenty Mule Team (M-G-M). ...... • 3*
Twenty-One Days Together (Columbia) 3*
Typhoon (Paramount) |*
Untamed (Paramount) 2*
"Victory (Paramount) - |*
Vigil in the Night (RKO). . • 3*
Waterloo Bridge (M-G-M) • 3V2*
Way of All Flesh, The (Paramount) 3*
Westerner The (United Artists). 3*
We Who Are Young (M-G-M) 3*
When the Daltons Rode (Universal) 3*
World in Flames, The (Paramount) 3*
Wyoming (M-G-M) . •. f*
Young As You Feel (20th Century-Fox) y 0JZ
Young People (20th Century-Fox) C 2/2*
Young Tom Edison (M-G-M) C 4*
MODERN SCREEN
72
(Continued from page 61)
yet; the kid has a lot of stuff but for the
time being, she simply cavorts through
these light little pictures taking things
the easy way.
Do you happen to remember "The
Underpup," Gloria Jean's first picture?
Well, this is a sort of follow-up. She's
a little Irish ragamuffin with a big heart
and a bigger family. Hugh Herbert is
her pop; Nan Bryant is her mom; Frank
Jenks is Uncle Dan; C. Aubrey Smith is
Grandpa and she has eight more uncles
who are either street cleaners, gate-
watchers, zoo attendants or cops.
The entire family revolves around
Gloria and when she gets a job as a
radio singer they all live off her earn-
ings and turn into pretentious make-
believes — till Gloria snaps them out of it!
It's the homey, natural atmosphere of
this whole picture that sells it. It'll re-
mind you of Jane Withers' best films —
except that Gloria Jean sings and sings
beautifully. One only wishes that her
songs were selected with greater care.
There are some swell actors in support-
ing roles but the honors go to a gent who
has been saving films for years by ap-
pearing at the right moment for a laugh,
without rating much notice — Billy Gil-
bert.
Oh, and there should be mention, too,
of Butch and Buddy, two crazy little
youngsters who remind you of the
Katzenjammer Kids, and of Bob Stack,
Nan Grey and Eugene Pallette; they're
swell. Directed by Andre Marton.—
Universal.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Director
Marton, who formerly directed for Joe
Pasternak, in Europe, makes his Ameri-
can debut with this film . . . Gloria Jean's
mother designed her clothes for this pic-
ture; her 11-year-old sister Lois (Gloria
Jean is 12) was her stand-in . . . Seven
famous ex-stars play the roles of Gloria
Jean's uncles — Charles Ray, Noah Beery,
Maurice Costello, Monte Blue, Pat O'Mal-
ley, Kenneth Harlan, William Desmond
. . . "Eli, Eli." sung by Gloria Jean here,
is supposed to be the oldest melody
known and was the first song ever heard
on the talking screen . . . C. Aubrey Smith
celebrated his 77th birthday and 25th
anniversary in films on July 21.
Victory
Here you will find some of the finest
acting you've seen in a long time. Betty
Field is one of the best actresses in
Hollywood, and this performance should
land her much of the credit she deserves.
Freddie March, too, is a swell trouper
and this is mighty close to being his
finest role. Sir Cedric' Hardwicke is an-
other A-l actor who tops himself, and
Jerry Cowan has never been as good as
he is here. Beyond the superb acting,
however, the film cannot be thoroughly
recommended.
It's a tough movie to analyze. It's like
an elegant dish of food containing the
very best ingredients but lacking salt
and pepper. The script is slow-moving,
but the major fault lies with Director
John Cromwell, who concentrated on
getting unbelievable results out of his
troupers at the expense of necessary
atmosphere. Joseph Conrad is difficult
to bring to the screen, and this picture
is convincing proof of the fact. What
makes him such strong and excitable
reading is his haunting and brilliant
mastery of language and atmosphere. He
builds up a scene to the point where you
almost burst with tension. And this is
where the picture falls down. It doesn't
concentrate enough on the shadings and
background and is consequently pretty
much black and white.
Freddie March and Betty Field live on
an island minding their own business
when along come Hardwicke and Cowan,
who play the villains. Betty kills Cowan,
Freddie kills Hardwicke and the Chinese
servant of the heroes slays the moron
servant of the bad men. Directed by
John Cromwell. — Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Imagine a
South Seas yarn without a sarong, an
earthquake or a tidal flood! The day of
miracles, indeed! . . . Fredric March has
been described as the collar ad who made
good; he's one of the few Hollywood
actors who does just as he pleases, has
no contracts and takes only the roles that
appeal to him . . . This is the fourth film
for Betty Field, young Bostonian, and all
four of them have been completely dif-
ferent in tempo — "What A Life," "Of
Mice And Men" and "Seventeen" . . .
Sir Cedric Hardwicke won a "most beau-
tiful baby" contest at the age of 14
months.
**'/2 Angels Over Broadway
Ben Hecht feels that nothing good will
ever come of this movie manufacturing
racket until somebody breaks the rules
and starts all over again on a new track.
But the trouble is that he keeps moving
the same old trolley car over on that new
track.
There are some good actors in this film,
and they try very hard. You have never
seen either Tom Mitchell or Rita Hay-
worth as good as they are here. And
John Qualen, who gets a chance to show
off his wares, will astonish some of you.
On the other hand Doug Fairbanks Jr.,
though he has only himself to blame for
it, is totally miscast as a New York
toughie (with an Oxford accent).
Hecht wrote, produced and directed the
picture with Fairbanks as co -producer
and star. It's a sentimental bit of hokum
dressed up in big words.
One final word of warning. Although
the dialog is occasionally very funny and
sometimes close to brilliant, for the most
part, it's stagey and unsuitable. And one
final word of praise. The photography is
excellent and the really fine musical
score by George Antheil helps a whole
lot. Directed by Ben Hecht. — Columbia.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: Formerly
titled "Before I Die," this is the fifth
picture in which Hecht carries triple
credits as writer, co-producer and direc-
tor; one of them, "The Scoundrel," won
him the 1935 Academy Award for best
original story . . . Sets had walls only
eight feet high because Hecht believes
big, expensive sets serve no worthwhile
purpose and often detract from the tell-
ing of the story . . . Picture was completed
considerably within the prescribed budget
and shooting schedule; this was accom-
plished by doing most of the work be-
fore shooting started . . . Entire action
of the story takes place within 10 hours
— all of it in the rain . . . Of the 21 sets,
only one is an actual exterior. Docks,
New York streets, etc., were built indoors
. . . This is Rita Hayworth's second dra-
matic role, a field towards which she is
veering as much as she can . . . John
Qualen is the fastest climbing character
actor in pictures; he startled the critics
with topnotch performances in "Knute
Rockne" and "Long Voyage Home" . . .
Thomas Mitchell, who was one of show
biz's original triple-threat men, having
been a writer and director before he tried
acting, is the only one in the film who
sticks to a single job — acting.
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JANUARY, 1941
73
In addition to this ultra ultra ski suit,
Kay Francis' wardrobe for her newest
picture, "Play Girl," includes a sable
coat rented by the studio at $100 a
day!
**l/2 Moon Over Burma
Let's make believe this is a question
bee. In a story with a tropical back-
ground what role does the female star
always play? Answer: Either a native
girl or a stranded show girl. How many
men fall in love with her? Two, both
white. Which actress plays the part of
the girl? Well, if you can get Dorothy
Lamour and her sarong
Okay, the lesson is over for the day.
The lads who wrote this script ob-
viously know all the proper answers.
Burma provides the tropical background;
there's Dotty Lamour as the stranded
show girl— and two males, both white.
But an innovation — aha! — no sarong.
Which is just about all the novelty there
is in the film. And even here, a com-
promise. For you lads who want an
eyeful — and why ' shouldn't you? — Dor-
othy shows up in short trunks and
abbreviated uppers.
There is a considerable amount of ex-
citing action in the film if you are not
bothered by the fact that you've seen it
all in previous pictures, too. The jungle
stuff is mixed neatly with the love story,
and there's a nice hot forest fire for
thrills.
There is no sense in talking about the
quality of the acting here. Dorothy La-
mour, Preston Foster and Robert Preston
are all exactly what you expect them to
be. Albert Basserman does a swell piece
as a blind man. Directed by Louis King.
— Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: A new Doro-
thy here — she's' bobbed her hair and
discarded her sarong, also traded her
chimpanzee for assorted cobras and ele-
phants. . . . When the news got around
that Dottie bobbed her hair, nearly 5000
requests were received for samples of
the famous locks. . . . Despite the log
jams, forest fires and other thrill scenes,
the most difficult to film was an ap-
parently simple one where an elephant
lies down to permit Robert Preston and
Dorothy to dismount from a howdah.
After fifteen rehearsals and a dozen takes,
they managed it. . . . Every actor in the
picture was injured at some time or
other. . . . Sally and Queenie, last of
the movie-trained elephants were burned
to death when the farm at which they
were housed caught fire; two other ele-
phants were made up to double for Sally
and Queenie for the finish of the film. . . .
Most of the herd used in the picture be-
long to the Hagenback-Wallace Circus . . .
The lodge shown in the picture was
furnished in the style of Burma; more
than $80,000 worth of rare art objects
and fine furniture were used.
**'/2 Tugboat Annie Sails
Again
Here is a new series of pictures about
Tugboat Annie, and Warner Brothers
thinks that this one will catch on and go
over as big as it did years ago when
Marie Dressier played Annie. We doubt
it unless the succeeding films improve
a great deal.
What's wrong with the picture? Well,
for one thing, the story— which is dull,
unimaginative. And for another, the di-
rection. Director Seller seemingly let
all the actors have a field day; they all
overact, from Rambeau on down, in-
cluding Alan Hale, Ronald Reagan and
Jane Wyman. But maybe the greatest
fault of the picture is that you can't help
trying to compare every second of it
with something you saw and thoroughly
enjoyed years ago. Directed by Lewis
Seiler. — War?ier Brothers.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: -Norman
Reilly Raine wrote twenty-six Tugboat
Annie stories before he gave up, some (
years ago. . . . The Annie character was
inspired by a real person, the late Theo
Foss of Tacoma. . . . Jane Wyman and
Ronald Reagan always try to get into
the same picture, if they can; they're
married. ... For a big freighter scene
the Nordpol, large Danish motorship, was
used; the boat and its crew were stranded
in the Pacific by U. S. immigration re-
strictions so were happy to make the
movie deal. . . . 18,000 gallons of fuel oil
were used by the movie flotilla.
Dancing on a Dime
There has been a trend in Hollywood
towards building up youth of late. Al-
most all film companies are attempting
to make a few pictures with young
people. Well, it's a noble notion and a
step in the right direction — but this is
not the one that you will want to see,
or talk about or remember. It's pretty
unfortunate.
Hard to know at whose step to lay the
blame here; the whole business just
doesn't come off. It tells of a bunch of
actors on the late, lamented WPA Thea-
tre Project who are left stranded and try
to get back on their feet. None of it is
very inspired, although everybody tries
hard.
Grace McDonald is best of the troupers
but it's a tough break for her to make
her Hollywood bow this way. Eddie Quil-
lan and Frank Jenks manage to get a few
laughs into the proceedings — for which
all thanks. Directed by Joseph Santley.
— Paramount.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: The old Gar-
rick theater was reproduced as accu-
rately as possible for this film. . . . Grace
McDonald, who makes her film bow here,
after clicking solidly on Broadway, start-
ed her theatrical career at 14 as a ma-
gician's stooge. . . . Though Frank Jenks
and Eddie Quillan were hoofers years ago
when they were on the stage, neither had
danced in ten years. They both swear
that these roles were the hardest they
ever played. . . . Quillan, just before this
picture started, was fresh from a half-
starved Okie role in "The Grapes of
Wrath." Nevertheless he lost 10 pounds
in four days on this pic.
** Hullabaloo
If it were not for the fact that there
are some very swell actors in this picture
turning in some very swell performances,
the kindest thing would be to just skip
the whole thing. But Frank Morgan is
better than he has ever been — which is
covering a lot of good, solid territory —
and there are two newcomers whom you
will not forget in a hurry named Virginia
O'Brien and Charles Holland. All three
of them deserve a better fate.
Do you want proof that there is some-
thing seriously cockeyed in the manu-
facture of this picture? Well, think on
this for a moment; two grand actresses
like Billie Burke and Sara Hadden are
thoroughly wasted, have only a few min-
utes each and get over no effective scenes
at alii Directed by Edwin Marin — Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer.
PREVIEW POSTSCRIPTS: When Vir-
ginia Grey was signed at Metro for "The
Great Ziegfeld" it was because of her
dancing, but she gets her first chance to
use her twinkling tootsies here. . . . Dan
Dailey, Jr., came to films as a song and
dance man; he doesn't do either one in
this film; never has in any pictures.
74
MODERN SCREEN
GOOD NEWS
(Continued from page 57)
he's got that we haven't — besides a voice,
a horse and a grin!
CHISEL OF THE MONTH
Every state in the union grows its annual crop
of chiselers, so maybe Hollywood oughtn't
to be surprised at finding one of the species
in its own midst. Nevertheless, everyone's
commenting about the cheap trick pulled by
a little star whose salary runs into the
thousands weekly. The star, so the story
goes, was the guest of an important studio
on one of those out-of-town-premiere junkets.
The studio always pays all expenses on
premiere trips, and before the star left she
was told to remember to charge her taxicab,
food, hotel and cocktail bills, etc., to her
hosts. The star smiled sweetly and said
she'd remember all right. And how she did!
Ten minutes after her train arrived at its
destination, she was seated in the swankiest
store in the city, airily instructing a dum-
founded salesgirl to charge $200 worth of
hose to the studio! The studio paid the bill,
of course, but we think we can name one
lady who will be off their guest list till hell
freezes over!
A VOICE IN THE MATTER
Two of the funniest-sounding men in Holly-
wood, Walter Brennan and Andy Devine,
didn't need expensive coaches to give them
"grate" voices. Walter acguired his in a
gas attack during World War I, and Andy
when he was a boy, fell on a stick which
punctured his neck and injured his larynx.
Happily, their voices haven't stopped either
of them from getting along. Walter's a two-
time Academy Award winner and Andy, who
has worked for the same studio since 1925,
currently pulls in the very neat sum of
$100,000 per annum none of which is being
squandered on voice specialists!
RELATIVELY SPEAKING
Not much chance Helen Parrish will grow
lonesome while doing and dying for dear old
Universal. Her brother, Bob, works in the
studio's cutting room and her best beau,
Charles Lang, has just been signed to a
contract there. Joan Leslie, Warners' remark-
able 15-year-old siren discovery, is another
who's not alone on a great movie lot. Joan
was at Warners only a few weeks when she
wangled contracts for both her older sisters!
Watch that little girl, by the way. The
studio's concentrating on not giving her pub-
licity, but when she bursts from the screen in
"High Sierra" and "Carnival" she's going
to out-oomph Annie!
HEDY AND JOHNNY ARE
SWEETHEARTS
The Hedy Lamarr-John Howard romance
which was strictly publicity when it started,
is now going like a house afire. The two
paired up originally when John's agent got
the idea his client was receiving the go-by
from producers because he lacked male
oomph. "If I fix him up with the most glam-
ourous woman in town," figured the agent,
"those boys will have to admit he's got what
it takes and sign him up pronto!" With the
help of a mutual friend the agent arranged
John's first date with Hedy, never expecting
there'd be a second. To his delight there's
been a third, fifth and twelfth! The only
persons more amazed than he are Hedy and
John who, for the first time in their career
lives, are singing the praises of the world's
most abused creature — the lowly press agent.
DEBUNKING DIVISION
Ginger Rogers' mother is circulating the
story that Ginger will wed an unnamed Mr.
Peggy Mora
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JANUARY, 1941
75
GOOD NEWS
{Continued from page 75)
Someone come Christmas time. Forget it.
Ginger's legal name will be Mrs. Lew Ayres
until late in January . . . Ditto the Lana
Turner-Tony Martin marriage rumors. Tony
becomes a free man early in the new year,
but Lana's scissoring from Artie Shaw won't
be complete until July . . . The story kick-
ing around that Loretta Young is headed for
mamahood is also false. Loretta denies it,
and, considering her reputation for honesty,
that — as they say — is that.
UNFAIR TO JANE
Jane Withers is in a seventh heaven of de-
light. She has a new boyfriend and, what's
more, she has him where she can keep her
eye on him! He's wide-smiling Buddy Pep-
per, the talented 16-year-older who appeared
with her in "Golden Hoofs." Jane discovered
Buddy in the cast of a local' revue and from
her seat in the audience developed such a
wild crush on the youngster, she immedi-
ately persuaded Darryl Zanuck to sign him
up. The kids spend all their working hours
together and would enjoy carrying their
courtship beyond studio doors. However,
Mama Withers has let it be known that Janie
may not date a boy alone until she's six-
teen— which may be what inspired Buddy to
compose a song called "What Good Does It
Do" and dedicate it to his fair patroness.
Beauteous and chic Ann Miller
s on her way to escort Mrs.
Miller to the Motion Picture Moth-
ers' Dance where she naturally was
the most envied mama of them all.
ELECTION DAY ECHO
Maybe election talk is old stuff in your town,
but in Hollywood they're still chuckling about
the way Claudette Colbert withered Robert
Montgomery when he invited her to attend
a "Hollywood-for-Willke" rally. "Certainly,
Bob," chirped Claudette. "I'd lo-ove to come
— but do you mind if I make a speech for
Franklin D. Roosevelt?"
THE GREEN, GREEN PASTURES
OF HOME
This is a story about William Brent, the man
who penned Sonja Henie's next picture,
"Sun Valley." We're telling you about Brent
and not about Sonja because, at the moment,
we think he's even more interesting than she.
And here's why. A year ago, Brent was a
$50-a-week sound man at 20th Century-Fox.
Then he wrote a story and tried to sell it
to his studio. Nobody would look at it so
Brent sent it to the Saturday Evening Post
and received a check for $5,000. A few
weeks later Fox, which could have had the
story for a couple of hundred dollars, paid
Brent $10,000 for its screen rights and now
Brent is a writer at his own studio and has
a seven-year contract for $250 weekly!
Next month we'll tell you about Sonja.
DIDJA KNOW
That Harmon Nelson is telling friends his
reconciliation with Bette Davis is not un-
likely . . . That Cary Grant is suffering ovei
six pages of Japanese dialogue, necessary
for his role of an American newspaper cor-
respondent in "Penny Serenade" . . . That
Jimmy Stewart, his star rating notwithstand-
ing, was haled into court charged with
speeding through a 20-mile zone at 45 miles
an hour . . . That the Don Ameches still
want a daughter but will probably get her
via the adoption route . . . That John Wayne
and Ward Bond were teammates on the USC
football eleven . . . That brothers Bing and
Bob Crosby have seen each other only four
times in the past seven years . . . That
"Tillie and Mac," famed comic strip char-
acters, will soon caper for Columbia . . .
That Brian Donlevy is building his new
home next to a cemetery . . . That the
Warner Bros, publicity department files all
Ann Sheridan portraits under "Annie" . . .
That player-pianos make Melvyn Douglas'
spine crawl . . . That Ida Lupino's beauti-
fully appointed bar and playroom were
furnished from a Sears-Roebuck catalogue
. . . That the cake Clark Gable gave Carole
on her last natal day was inscribed: "To
Ma — on her 75th birthday"?
BEWARE THE VISIBLE MAN!
Lionel and John Barrymore, who chilled when
the fair Elaine entered the Royal. Family,
kissed and made up soon after Elaine's exit.
So clubby have they become that John's
taken to ribbing the less pixyish Lionel —
and Lionel's beginning to think maybe his
brother is funny after all. For example, the
other morning John noticed that the bushy
eyebrows and baggy suits he wears in "The
Invisible Woman" make him the spitting
image of Lionel. He promptly dispatched
a messenger boy to Lionel's house with a
photograph of himself in character and at-
tached a note which read: "This is the best
picture you've ever made!" Only one thing
is marring their touching reconciliation.
John's trying to date Lionel's pretty nurse,
and Lionel's getting madder by the minute.
McCarthy, the wooden
WOLF
Edgar Bergen, who hasn't got a wife, be-
came a father last week. The latest addition
to his curious clan is flesh-and-blood Thelma
Jean Graham, a 12-year-old Nashville, Ten-
nessee, orphan. Edgar found Thelma Jean
when he went to Nashville recently to pur-
chase a new airplane. Thelma Jean met him
at the airport with her own Charley Mc-
Carthy dummy on her arm, and told him she
Solution to Puzzle on Page 69
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76
MODERN SCREEN
wanted to be a ventriloquist, too. Being the
best-hearted guy in the industry, Edgar tried
her out, found she was terrific, and immedi-
ately adopted her for the purpose of train-
ing her in his art. Thelma Jean now lives
at a Beverly Hills boarding school where
Edgar visits her regularly to give her les-
sons. "Can't have her around the house,"
he apologizes. "You know, that McCarthy
fellow. . . ."
WHITHER THOU GOEST
Has anyone noted that Barbara Stanwyck
and Robert Taylor have had a house guest
since the day they married? He's "Uncle"
Buck Mack, an old vaudeville performer who
befriended Barbara in her down days. He
used to live with Barbara and Frank Fay
when they were Mr. and Mrs. and, when
Barbara remarried, he just went along with
the bride. "Uncle" Buck worships Barbara
and is constantly fearful that someone will
harm her. As a result, when they're out
together, he always keeps a roll of dimes
clutched in his right fist. He knows the
dimes will pack more punch into his punches
should a stranger molest her — and he'll
gladly meet all comers.
BARBARA BROADCASTS
You can't blame "Uncle" Buck for wanting
to protect a girl like Babs. Mrs. Ray Milland
reports that the other day she was about to
tune out a radio program emanating from a
local orphan asylum when she heard the
announcer say he was going to introduce a
young lady known to all listeners. Barbara
Stanwyck took' the air and, without fanfare
or build-up, quietly spoke her piece in be-
half of the youngsters. It's things like these
that make us think "Uncle" Buck ought to
carry quarters!
DISA AND DATA
The John Waynes,- thinking each baby
would be their last, have given away three
sets of nursery equipment. They say the
newest will go into storage — just in case
. . . 20th Century-Fox claims Linda Darnell's
kisses add $500 to the cost of each of her
pictures. Her blushes show on the screen
and retakes are necessary . . . Under the
terms of her new contract, Judy Garland will
receive $2,000 a week for the next three
years, $2,500 weekly for two years after
that and, from then on, $3,000 weekly until
she completes her seven-year pact . . . Lon
Chaney, Jr., is authoring the life of his
famous dad. He believes ' it can be film-
played by only one man — Paul Muni . . .
Erich Maria Remarque writes to the accom-
paniment of symphony records . . . Cesar
Romero, disdaining a double, does all his
own riding in "Cisco Kid" pictures . . . Greer
Garson's glorious coloring may soon shine
from a Technicolor screen ... J. Sinkerton
Snoopington, Mr. Hermosillo Brunch and
Elsie Mae Adele Brunch Souse are all char-
acters in W. C. Fields' "The Bank Dick."
Fields himself is called Egbert Souse . . .
Connie Bennett raffled off her Persian lamb
coat to whip up some money for British
refugee children . . . Bette Davis' dog is on
a weight-building diet, having lost too many
pounds while beating around New York
with Bette . . . Robert Preston is getting more
larnin' at UCLA. It's a literature course,
this time . . . Orson Welles is probably the
most highly organized man in the country.
He's a member of five unions . . . It's dieting,
bowling and a daily five-mile hike for Lana
Turner who must drop fourteen pounds
worth of curves before she can face the
camera again . . . The cellar of Elsa Max-
well's Hollywood home is packed with vin-
tage champagne . . . Charlie Chaplin's an-
swer to the Paulette Goddard-Anatole Litvak
talk was a gift to Paulette of a pair of heart-
shaped diamond ear-clips.
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN
CONTRACT
After five long and fruitless years, Olympe
Bradna has won a divorce from Paramount
on the grounds of cruelty. Seems the studio
realized their little Frenchie's career was
breathing its last and decided to pep it up
by changing her tag. Olympe said "You
don't do that to me!" because the Bradnas
are one of the oldest and most revered fam-'
ilies in show business, and the suggestion
that she'd smell sweeter by any other name
made her sick. Now, Olympe is marching
with the unemployed, but she's still insisting
she did the right thing. "There was no al-
ternative," says she. "Bradna is a more
important name than Paramount any day —
at least to the Bradnas!"
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW
MOVIES?
If you like odd facts and figures and you
like the movies, you'll like the information
an ambitious studio statistician dug up re-
cently. He reports that when you see the
average American movie, you sit in one
of 10,924,484 seats in one of the nations
17,500 theatres, and watch the screen for
73 minutes. If you pay the average admis-
sion price, your ticket reads 22c, and if you
want to see all of the 500-odd features re-
leased yearly, you must hug your seat for
26 days and 26 nights!
MUSICAL LOVE POTION
Seems as though the newest way to a man's
heart is through your harp. Cameo-faced
Anita Louise admits she's teaching hubby
Buddy Adler to play the instrument, and
Deanna Durbin's issued orders she's not to
be disturbed between five and six, the hour
set aside for her string-strumming lesson.
Deanna's learning to play the organ, too,
which should squelch the "any minute now"
marriage talk that's around again. Wives-
to-be, if they're as practical as Deanna, don't
spend their pre-nuptial days caressing key
boards and harp strings. They study the
"Newlywed's Handibook" or volumes deal-
ing with the "Care and Feeding of Babies"
— and, to date, Deanna's attitude toward
both these subjects has been distinctly frigid.
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JANUARY, 1941
77
A RIGHT GUY
{Continued from page 31)
Esther Ralston, who plays the role
of her late friend, Nora Bayes,
in "Tin Pan Alley," swears that
in the future nothing will lure
heo to Hollywood away from her
husband and child and their brand-
new home in Great Neck, Long Island.
"Sometimes I think I'd like to try the
stage. I never have. But then again, I
don't believe I'd like those late hours,
after -theatre supper parties and all that.
I'm an early-to-bedder and a very early
riser. The days are never long enough
for me so I'm not giving any early morn-
ing hours back to the Indians.
"If you should ask me whether I'm
satisfied being an actor or wish I'd gone
in for some other job or profession, the
answer would be 'yes and no.' When you
look at it from one angle there are a lot
more worthwhile things a man could be
doing. On the other hand, entertainment
is pretty much of a necessity especially
in these times, and some group has to
supply it. I like the feeling that what
I am doing is necessary. And since I
do feel that way about it, I'm content to
be one of the group that supplies it.
I try not to kid myself," said Gary,
"because if you don't fool yourself
you won't fool other people and, in the
long run, you'll get along all right.
"For instance, I know that if I were
not a movie star I wouldn't get asked out
much. I don't pretend that I'm the life of
the party. I never kid myself that I got
into pictures on my looks either. I was
the first of an era of more or less homely
guys in the movies. I've had lines on my
face since I was twenty. Wind and sun
put them there I guess. And no Adonis
was ever this tall and skinny!
"Then, so many people contribute to
your being a movie star. It isn't a one-
man show, by any means. A teacher of
mine got me interested in dramatics.
Being shy, too tall for my age and self-
conscious about it even then, she made
me go in for debating. I have her to
thank, really, for I did gain a certain
degree of self-assurance.
"Then there was a lawyer back home
in Montana, a friend of my father's. He
taught me how to box. He was interested
in 'these movie stars,' as he called them,
and always made them sound like some
strange species. Anyway, he used to talk
about the money they made. Valentino,
for example, and the fact that he was said
to earn $250,000 a year. 'What is it these
women go for?' he'd ask. 'Is it the shinola
on the hair? Is it the girl in his arms,
the camera on his face, the look in his
eyes . . .' and at that point he'd stop,
clear his throat vigorously, look horribly
embarrassed and ask me brusquely what
the hell I was lolling around for! I didn't
think, at the time, that I was much in-
terested in the stars or in the money they
made. But it must have soaked in be-
cause when I needed dough and needed
it badly, echoes of those talks came back
to me. Valentino, $250,000 a year-
siren songs when your stomach is flat!
"Well, one hundred people like him,
suggestions like that in and out of your
life, contribute to making you whatever
you become. And it takes more people
and more factors to make a movie actor
than it does to make any other job. The
rest of it, for me, was equally unpre-
meditated and accidental. I wanted to be
a cartoonist. I submitted a few things to
editors who said they were 'sorry.' I sold
advertising here in Los Angeles, where
I had come to make my fortune. I did all
right except that I couldn't collect my
dough. I got hungry. I happened to run
into a pal from Montana who was an
extra in the movies, riding ponies. I went
along and rode, too," said Gary. "That's
how it happened to me. No particular
enterprise on my part, no plotting or
planning.
"Then, after a movie actor gets estab-
lished," Gary continued, "at least a mil-
lion people contribute to keeping him
established. The fans, all the people he
works with — producer, director, author,
sound man, each one about as indispen-
sable as the other. A movie actor can't
honestly get up, whack himself on the
chest and say, "Look what I did!" So you
really can't get puffed up about it. You
can't feel very secure about it either.
For in this business, success depends on
whether you have five gray hairs in your
head or sixty, and the chance for success
decreases with the passing of years and
youth. There's only one Lewis Stone!
"Another thing, when I'm working I
don't see the rushes. 'That's funny,' peo-
ple say. It's not because I'm indifferent
that I don't see them but because they
make me self-conscious. I don't go into
a huddle over my script before I start
work in a picture — not because I don't
take it seriously, but because the script
is changed so often during the course of
production that I find it better to sort of
'feel' my character out as he goes along.
He comes to life that way.
LIKE all actors I like to work for
Capra. He makes you feel impor-
tant; he lets you make suggestions. Not
that you have to with Capra; he senses
things. If an actor seems unhappy in a
scene, Frank spots it and says, 'You were
unhappy in that scene, weren't you?' He
finds out why. Then he does the scene
over and over again until you feel com-
fortable doing it.
"I believe in relegating matters not up
my alley to others who can handle them
better than I. I'm not much of a business
man and so I put my affairs into the
hands of my manager. When it comes
to picking screen material for myself, the
right stories, my judgment is pretty
sound. Of course we all make mistakes,
but generally I can 'feel out' a story I
should do. We see a lot of pictures, and
my wife and I go to the neighborhood
movies frequently. When we do it's for
entertainment, not to pick them to pieces.
If I'm entertained, I call it a good pic-
ture. And I use that same audience re-
action as a basis for choosing stories. In
other words I say to myself, 'Would I
like to see myself in this picture?'
"I guess I liked 'The Virginian' about
the best of any picture I've made. It was
my first talking picture, and it was the
original Western. I liked 'Mr. Deeds' be-
cause I understood the chap and it offered
a new twist on a small-town American
character. I feel as if I fit comfortably
into the clothes of 'John Doe.' I may do
'Sergeant York' next, again at Warners. I
feel very self-conscious about playing the
part of a man who is still alive, a man
who has done so many fine things, built
roads and schools in the mountains of
Tennessee where education was badly
needed.
"I think we are all going to live very
differently, very frugally from now on.
It's all right with me personally. I'll fit,
and comfortably, into a simpler scheme
of things than we have known here in
Hollywood. Perhaps that's the answer to
your questions," he smiled at me, "all
of them. I guess I fit comfortably into my
life, so why make a fuss about it?"
78
MODERN SCREEN
_
THE DOCTOR VIEWS HIS CASE
(Continued from page 43)
a thermometer. In typical Ayres fashion,
he got to studying the gadget, and be-
fore he knew it he had picked up a
strange assortment of barometers, wind-
direction indicators, rain gauges and all
sorts of weird contraptions dreamed up
by himself. One of these days he'll have
a licensed weather station up there on
Lookout Mountain.
He started out "piddling around" with
a dollar camera and wound up with a
dark room, a half dozen dream cameras
and a reputation for expert picture -
snatching. When he isn't entering some
of his photographic masterpieces in com-
petitions, he's discussing shots and angles
with the studio cameramen. By the time
the daffodils come, he'll be ready to
photograph all of Metro's pictures!
Having been a medicine man in six
Kildare pictures, you can bet your bot-
tom dollar that Ayres hasn't been asleep
on the job. He has read the Materia
Medica through twice, has romped
through a library on surgery, and when
last heard from was mastering the latest
whimsies in the art of diagnosis. One of
the Hollywood legends is that once Dr.
Lew walked up to a total stranger, talked
to him five minutes and informed him,
gently that he was suffering from a brain
tumor. His hunch proved right.
So studious is Ayres about his role of
James Kildare, M.D., that he has haunted
hospitals to check up on physicians'
habits, has talked with internes until wee
hours in the morning, has watched opera-
tions by the dozen and has even com-
pared his bedside manner with those of
established practitioners.
ALL of which explains why his char-
■OL acterization is so convincing. In fact,
the student body of a medical school in
Dallas turns out en masse for every
Ayres picture, hoping to acquire that in-
gratiating Ayres manner — especially with
female patients — for future use.
Perish the thought that Lew Ayres is
eternally buried in books or listening to
celestial music. Fact is that the Caliph of
Lookout Mountain is one of Hollywood's
most sought-after escorts, which fact is
reflected in his colossal fan following
among college girls.
Every now and then Lew decides to do
the town. Then it's more like Mardi Gras
than anything else. He wilt scoop himself
up a Mary Beth Hughes or a Ruth Hussey
and take off. They descend on the night
spots with a flourish, Lew in his white
tie and tails and the current princess-
consort in an elegant little number from
I. Magnin's.
Wherever there's Lew and his lady,
there's pandemonium. Lew can rhumba
with the best of them, and his La Conga,
according to report, is even better than
that of Sehor Cesar Romero.
Somewhere around three Lew hustles
her home, bows cavalier-style and de-
parts. He may not see her for months
after that. Bachelor Lew is traveling light
these days. He's steering clear of ro-
mance as if his life depended on it. A
good time — yes. But a pact! No, thank
you.
Being an idealist, he has his views on
the perfect woman.
"The three qualities I admire most in
a woman," he'll tell you, if you can get
him in the mood, "are charm, poise and
intellect. Maybe I'm a sap for feeling the
way I do, but I'm convinced that every
woman, if she's so determined, can de-
velop these qualities provided, of course,
that she has a normal mental capacity."
Concerning Hollywood in general, he
feels philosophic. He realizes, at long last,
that a man's prestige is as good as his
last picture. He jokes about it. "The only
thing to do, I guess, is to make all your
last pictures stirring and memorable."
About his own art, he's amazingly
modest. He thinks he's "an average in-
telligent actor." He's not waiting for the
part that will win him the Academy
Award.
"I want no part of glamour. Let me
play the man who eats the spiders— the
funny little man. There's no trick at all
in turning out what the critics choose to
call 'a competent job' in the role of a
normal young American, because that's
what I am. That's just being myself. But
to get around to playing the type of
characters created by Lionel Barrymore
or Jean Hersholt— that's something else
again. Let Gable and Cooper be the
heroes. I'll take the character parts."
What Lew would like to do above all
else is to direct. He took a fling at it a
few years back. It was a costly venture.
And not spectacularly successful, either.
In order to direct, he made an unusual
bargain with Republic Pictures. First he
agreed to play in two pictures. Next he
promised, in order to learn every phase
of production, to follow three pictures
from the writing to the final editing—
without pay. And finally he had to con-
sent to direct the picture gratis. The
upshot of it all was that he worked eight
months without getting a cent, living on
the proceeds from playing in two pic-
tures.
He has no illusions about what he did
over at Republic.
"I directed one picture, 'Hearts in
Bondage,' and it was a turkey. But I'm
not licked. I'm still going to direct, even
if I have to wait until I'm gray and
bald-headed. But I'm not going to push
success. I'm simply going to drift with the
wind and see where it takes me."
UP-TO-DATE ADDRESS LIST!
Send today for the new up-to-date list of
Hollywood stars with their correct studio
addresses. It is a convenient size to
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79
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, MY DARLING
(Continued from page 33)
Parade," Deanna's new picture, which
was sweet. He's just bought a ranch at
Palm Springs and is thrilled about the
house he's building on it.
Evelyn Ankers sends regards. She's
out here with her mother now and I saw
her for a moment at the preem of "For-
eign Correspondent."
Faith (Mrs. Charles Bennett) turned
over in her plane the other day and
smacked her head rather badly. She's
been hopping about from airport to air-
port getting advertisements from schools
and aviation companies for the program
for British Ambulance Corps.
Hardly ever see Ty (Power) any more.
He's been busy working on "The Mark of
Zorro" and taking three-hour lessons each
day in fencing, dancing and magic tricks.
You know what a stickler Rouben Ma-
moulian is for perfection (worse even
than you, my darling, who'll never let
me appear in public with the tiniest bit
of a chip off my fingernail polish and
who insists on bags and hats matching
exactly) and Ty is just about exhausted
trying to live up to Mamoulian's idea of
how things should be done. But I did
bump into him on the lot day before
yesterday and he wanted to know all
about you.
It's not news to you how we all pass
letters around. Any letter any of us gets
goes all over town in no time at all.
Willie (Nigel Bruce), Morton (Lowry)
and I spent all of our time on "Hudson's
Bay Company" passing letters back and
forth.
Larry (Olivier) and Vivien (Leigh)
came by the house Sunday on their way
to make tests for "Lady Hamilton" and
she wore the widest wedding band you've
ever seen. Oh, and I must tell you the
trick Paulette (Goddard) played on them.
Seems that the studio built them the
fanciest bungalow for dressing-rooms that
you ever saw, and planned a christening
event with a big supper, inviting the cast
The shapely legs and cellophane
bonnets of such world shakers as
Swen Stith form the comely decora-
tion in the new comedy melodrama,
"A Night At Earl Carroll's."
80
and their friends. Well, Paulette spotted
the bungalow just as she was leaving
the lot, crawled in through a back win-
dow, ordered caterers to serve supper
and invited the workmen on the lot to
a pre-christening! When Larry and
Vivien arrived, there sat the electricians,
carpenters and laborers on all that fancy
furniture, eating chicken and salad and
hot rolls!
Muni gave a party on our set yester-
day— all fancy, with a bar and every sort
of delicious dish. Bella (Muni) was there,
in addition to the cast and crew. She's
going to the hospital soon for an op-
eration.
Had a long letter from Aunt Sybil
yesterday, but all she talked about was
her vegetable garden. I can't understand
the casualness of letters from home. It
was a great shock to me that mother
was interested in fashions. And it hadn't
occurred to me until I received her
letter that Hollywood was looked up to
as a style center. But tell her I posed for
some pictures in "authentic California
fashions" yesterday, which I'm sending
along by Clipper.
Remember how worried you were
about my wardrobe for "H. B. C"? You
thought the gowns were cut too low.
Well, so did the Hays office. You'll be
glad to know all my "stills" were killed.
Got a love of a new hat the other day
— a regular halo of multicolored feathers.
I wish you were here to help me select
gloves to go with it. It's getting cold
here, so I bought a new beaver coat, too.
Everybody in Hollywood seems to
think Dave (Niven) is married. Some-
how I don't seem to be able to convince
them the story was only a gag.
It won't be long now until you see
Pat (Knowles) again. He's about to
complete his training course and will be
flying a ship across in a few weeks.
Take care of yourself, my darling.
GINNY.
CONFESSIONS OF A CAMPUS CUTIE
(Continued from page 58)
a Broadway musical and offered her a
part in it. The show was called
"Du Barry Was a Lady." She ran away
with it. Those legs could run away with
anything! Say, by the way, Betty-
how about those legs?
"How about 'em?"
Well, they're swell; but seems like
somewhere or other we picked up some
gossip about 'em, something or other
about Grable wasn't very happy with all
that leg talk, wanted to be known as an
actress; was terribly tired of being just
the gal with the gams, the Sheba with
the shafts.
"Look." Betty is a very direct girl.
When she says this she looks right square
at you. Very disconcerting. "The guy
who started that business was a very
smart publicity man at Paramount. He
did me a lot of good. I'm very grateful
to him. But naturally, enough is enough.
I figure the gag is played out, and it's
time to begin selling myself as myself.
So it's true. The great actress complex!
"Nuts. I'm not Bette Davis; I know
that. I'm just Betty Grable. That's the
way I want to be sold. I don't want to
be Cutie Pie. I don't want to parade
around in shorts all my life.
"I want to sing and dance; I want to
act. But the main thing I want to do is
keep moving. In show business that's the
main thing." She paused and looked
thoughtful. "There's bound to come a
day, of course, when the public gets tired
of you, but when it comes I will be
ready for it."
Ready for it? Ready how?
A laugh, a clear, sure laugh.
"Have you ever heard tell of a bank
book? I've got one. A nice, fat, juicy
one."
A little wrinkle now, on those brows
that wrinkle so seldom. A little earnest-
ness on those lips that pout so easily.
"What does a girl expect out of life?
I've got a car, a home, some clothes.
MODERN SCREEN
What more do I need? Some girls go
in for expensive furs and diamonds.
None of that means anything to me.
"Most of my money gets socked away,
put in the bank, and when that certain
day rolls around, it just won't catch me
short, that's all."
In the meantime, however, Betty
Grable is the hottest thing in town. She's
under contract to Twentieth Century-
Fox, and the studio hasn't been so ex-
cited about a newcomer in many years.
A newcomer! That's a laugh. But
Betty can afford a laugh — if she gets
time. She just finished "Down Argen-
tine Way." Before she could change her
costume she was working in "Tin Pan
Alley." The scripts of her next two pic-
tures are ready and set to go.
Some fun.
But it is fun! Maybe it's fun because
it's a merry-go-round, because it's her
little-girl dream come true. For a dozen
years she's dreamed of being a star.
Now she is.
Her mother's been a big help, of
course.
"She's not one of those movie mothers
— you know what I mean. She doesn't
get in people's hair. If she goes out to
the studio to watch me work, she sits in
a corner and looks on. Maybe she knits.
She doesn't try to tell the directors what
her darling daughter ought to do."
"How about night life?"
"Well, when I'm not working in a pic-
ture I go out, of course. I see a lot of
movies. I go to shows if there are any
in town. Sometimes I go to night clubs
—not an awful lot. I like to dance but,
well, smoke gets in my eyes."
Mostly her idea of fun is — surprise!
surprise! — reading. When she's working,
she reads an hour or two every night —
can't fall asleep unless she does. When
she's on lay-off, of course, she reads
even more. All kinds of books — history
and biography. It's her way of getting
an education. She's interested in people,
but she's found out it's more fun to read
about them.
That laugh, again. Clear, hearty.
"You meet a much better grade of
people in books, you know!"
Boy friends?
No one special. Not just now. She
just hasn't met Mr. Right.
She doesn't like to talk about her
marriage to Jackie Coogan. Just says,
"Maybe we were both too young."
Some day, of course, she hopes to
settle down. Some day she'd like to have
a husband, a baby; but there's no rush
about it.
There are two things that will keep her
from rushing it. First, of course, she
wants to cash in on her career right now.
Success has been a long time coming
and it makes good sense to let it pay off.
Also, she wants to be absolutely sure
the next time she marries that there isn't
going to be any mistake about it. She
wants to be right. This is a sort of an
obsession of hers, by the way — trying to
be right.
"I don't want to kid myself next time.
I'm going to face the facts."
Yes, it's true. Take one look at those
clear, blue eyes. Note the set of those
lips. Look at the tilt of that chin. Betty
is a gal who will always know the
score.
YULETIDE DELIGHTS
(Continued from page 15)
FOUR FOLD FUDGE
Chocolate:
2 cups granulated sugar
% cup milk
2 tablespoons white karo
2 squares chocolate, cut
into small pieces, or
% cup cocoa
% teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine sugar, milk and karo in
saucepan. Add chocolate, or cocoa. Bring
to a boil slowly, stirring constantly. When
chocolate has melted and mixture boils,
cover saucepan and boil mixture gently
for 3 minutes. Uncover and continue
cooking, without stirring, until a soft
ball is formed when a small amount is
put in cold water (236°F. on candy ther-
mometer). Add salt and butter and let
cool until lukewarm (HOT.). Add va-
nilla and beat with a wooden spoon until
fudge loses its gloss and becomes thick
enough to hold its shape-. Turn into
slightly buttered pans to make a layer
approximately % inch in thickness. When
cold cut into squares. Makes IVi pounds.
Also try with chopped Brazil nuts.
Maple Nut:
Follow recipe for Chocolate Fudge,
with these changes: (1) Omit chocolate
or cocoa. (2) Use 2 cups light brown
sugar instead of the white sugar. (3)
Use % cup cream (or evaporated milk)
and Vz cup water for the milk. (4) Cook
the fudge to 238°F. (5) Use 1 teaspoon
maple flavoring instead of the vanilla.
(6) Add V2 cup chopped pecans to fudge
just before pouring it into pans, mark
off into squares and press a pecan half
into each square while candy is still
warm. Cut when cold.
Cocoanut Fudge:
Follow recipe for Chocolate Fudge with
these changes. (1) Omit chocolate or
cocoa. (2) Use Vz cup cream and V3 cup
milk for the % cup milk. (3) Cook the
candy to 240°F. (4) Stir in 1 cup shredded
cocoanut just before turning into pan;
or drop mixture from a teaspoon onto
heavy waxed paper.
Marshmallow Fudge:
Follow recipe for Chocolate Fudge.
While fudge is cooking cut x/4 pound
marshmallows into small pieces with wet
scissors. Pour a thin layer of the fudge
into buttered pan. Press cut marshmal-
lows into this, then top with remaining
fudge. When cold cut into squares.
MARSHMALLOW SNOW MAN
For each Snowman use 5 marshmal-
lows. Place two flat on the table, side
by side for snowman's "feet". Put another
marshmallow on top of these, standing up
on edge, flat side towards you for the
body, and still another on top of this one,
in the same way and facing in the same
direction, for the head. Fasten these to-
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JANUARY, 1941
81
PAGING DENNIS MORGAN
(Continued from page 35)
'Well, now I've had my fun. Now I've
got to get myself a job.' That was 1931—
the year the bottom fell out of the lum-
ber business. I knew Dad had been hard
hit, but I thought maybe I could connect
with some big firm in Milwaukee as a
buyer of raw lumber which I knew
something about. I went to every com-
pany in Milwaukee, and I had no luck.
"I had to find work of some kind. So
I went down to a radio station, where
they knew me from a few contests I'd
been in, and asked if they could use a
singer. They took me on as vocalist on a
commercial program. Then one day they
asked me if I could announce. So I be-
came an announcer as well as a singer.
I was doing everything after a while
from dramatic programs to sports broad-
casts. And I was doing all right finan-
cially. I even paid off some of the family
taxes.
"But the job began to get tiresome. I
couldn't see it leading anywhere, and
the sports broadcasts weren't doing my
voice any good. I was beginning to have
a little respect for my voice and had not
only enrolled in the Wisconsin Con-
servatory but was studying with a
couple of private teachers on the side.
Finally I quit the radio job. With all the
over -confidence in the world, I disre-
garded the fact that I was practically
broke and headed for Chicago.
"In my innocence I expected Chicago
to be so full of opportunities that I could
take my pick. I got educated in a hurry.
I was just about six inches from the
breadline before I talked myself into a
job— singing at the State Theatre.
"They got me dirt-cheap, but audi-
ences didn't know it and other theatre
managers didn't know it, because my
name went up in lights. Pretty soon I
was able to afford to enroll in the Ameri-
can Conservatory. I was convinced that
opera was my future. I had big ideas, big
ambitions."
Dennis was smart enough to realize
that most theatre singers were a dime-a-
dozen because they didn't give audiences
an earful of singing; only an earful of
current song hits. He sold himself as
somebody who would give them both
He'd sing semi-classical versions of pop-
ular songs.
IN 1933," he continues, "the Palmer
House opened its new Empire Room,
the last word in swank, and I was hired
as soloist. I stayed thirty-seven weeks,
then came back for a return engagement,
at a big boost in salary. I thought I had
the world on a string and got married on
the strength of that salary boost.
"The Empire Room had a clientele that
could take concert singing. I didn't have
to stick to symphonic jazz, as far as they
were concerned. I could give out with
some of my Conservatory repertoire
And don't think I didn't."
Don't think; either, that his reputation
as a worth-while singer didn't start
spreading. He'd been making some con-
cert recordings for some small radio sta-
tions, on the side. Now, suddenly, he
got an offer to sing on a coast-to-coast
hook-up, soloist with an all-string or-
chestra. People outside Chicago, people
all over the country began to be con-
scious of the singing voice of Stanley
Morner. .
Then the University of Chicago asked
him to guest-star in its presentation of
the Handel opera, "Xerxes," never sung
in English before in America. Mary Gar-
den, the patron saint of Chicago opera,
heard him in it and asked him to au-
dition for her.
"I sang three arias for her and she
asked me to do "Carmen" with her. She
knew someone who was willing to back
a production. So I learned the entire
opera in two weeks; worked my fool
head off. Then the backer decided to
back out.
"It began to look as if I couldn't go
any farther in Chicago so I went to
New York. A well-known art patron
wanted to send me to Europe — 'to study
for the Metropolitan.' That sounded
pretty good for a day or two. But I de-
cided that I didn't want to go to Europe
until I could pay my own way.
"Somebody else wanted me to do a
Broadway operetta. I waited around
two months for the operetta to mate-
rialize— which it never did. Then Mary
Garden arrived in New York, sold on
the idea that I should have a singing
career in the movies. The thought of
reaching millions of people, all over the
world, with my voice was pretty exciting
stuff. She introduced me to the right
people at M-G-M, I made a movie sing-
ing test and they gave me a handsome
contract. Then I came to Hollywood
where I sat around for two years with-
out a damned thing to do except study
voice. I'll never get over that."
He still gets steamed up when he
You'll thrill to our fictionization
of
"LADY HAMILTON"
starring Vivien Leigh and
Laurence Olivier!
Don't miss the February
MODERN SCREEN
thinks about it.
"I can't tell you what those two years
did to me. How would you like to have
two years taken out of your life, when
you're young and ambitious and eager to
accomplish something? I don't know
why they kept paying me without using
me. All I know is that every week I
got a pay-check and the words 'We
aren't ready to use you yet.' I felt my-
self going crazy, asking myself: 'Why?
Why?'
"That's the greatest crime of Holly-
wood: signing young people who show
talent, then never using that talent. And
there's no recourse as long as they pay
you.
"I kept pleading for something to do—
anything. I didn't insist on being a
singer. I said I was willing to do straight
acting. Just so that I could get back a
little of that feeling of accomplishing
something. They gave me a couple of
bits. At the end of two years they called
me and said they wanted to take up my
option— and promised me big things. The
next day I received a script that had
four lines for me to say. I told them
what they could do with their contract,
and they were nice enough to release me.
"I made one desperate effort to make
Hollywood conscious of why I had been
given a movie contract: namely, because
I was a singer. I appeared in a Los
Angeles presentation of 'The Student
Prince' which was a big success. Except
that nobody gave me a chance to sing
on the screen because of it.
"After I left M-G-M I was going to
New York, but I had offers to stay.
Paramount treated me so well, I signed
there. They changed my name to Rich-
ard Stanley. I stayed six months during
which I played two bits in two gangster
pictures. I decided to give up all hope
of ever getting anywhere in Hollywood.
1WAS rehearsing to go East on a con-
cert tour with a pianist friend of
mine when Bill Pierce, of Producer
Charles Rogers' office, dropped in and
heard me singing. He told Rogers, and
Rogers tried to make Paramount listen,
but Paramount was disinterested. So he
told Jack Warner about me. Warner
called me in that same afternoon. I was
leaving Hollywood the next night.
Warner said, 'We'll make a test of you
tomorrow morning.' So I made my test,
with a bad cold, and left. 'Please don't
wire me an offer,' I said, 'unless you
have something definite for me to do —
either singing or non-singing.'
"I went to Milwaukee for a week of
personal appearances, then on to Detroit
where I got a wire from Warner: 'Report
next Monday. Picture starts Tuesday.'
I came back. That was two years ago.
And" — he grins cheerfully — "I've been
busy ever since."
He has done nine pictures in two
years, been everything from a tough
dock worker to a Philadelphia gentle-
man.
Considering the fact that he set out to
be a singer, how does he explain his
acting ability? "I guess you can blame
that dramatics course in college and
some stock things I did back in the
Middle West. But I still have to work
to say lines the way actors say them
instead of sounding like a singer talking.
That's difficult for a singer to do."
How does he feel about the fact that
Warners, who have otherwise appreci-
ated him, still haven't let him sing on the
screen — except in a few scattered
scenes? He says, good-naturedly, "I
don't care. If I don't sing on the screen
I'll sing at home."
Home is a modest rented house in the
San Fernando Valley, whose two most
important rooms are a music room and a
nursery. In the nursery you'll find a
six-year-old boy, Stanley, and a three-
year -old girl, Kristen.
When he's working on a picture he
goes home and listens to recordings of
Tschaikovsky's 4th, 5th or 6th Sym-
phony, Beethoven's 9th Symphony or
any song that John Charles Thomas has
ever recorded. "Then I'm relaxed." Be-
tween pictures, he relaxes athletically
playing golf and tennis or hunting in the
mountains. His friends are a mixture of
musicians and athletes.
He always makes a point of seeing the
rushes of his previous day's work— a
practice that many directors discourage
on the grounds that they don't want
players worrying about their perform-
ances. Dennis says, "You should worry
about your performances. That's the
great thing about the movies: you can
see yourself as others see you — and try
to do something about it."
It's certainly refreshing to meet a suc-
cessful star who's so unassuming— so
honest with himself. No, Dennis Morgan
isn't forgetting all those lean years.
They're still much too close for comfort!
R2
Printed in the U. S. A. by the Art Color Printing Company, Dunellen, N.J.
MODERN SCREEN
The fascinating entertainment
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10
"INSIDE-HOLLYWOOD' biographies
GlAHOl'R PORTRAITS — SELECTED AXD AI'TOtiRAPHEDJBY THE STARS
THE 1941 WINTER EDITION OF
MEM ALBUM
AUTOGRAPHED STAR PORTRAITS
INSIDE HOLLYWOOD BIOGRAPHIES
New Faces is the theme of this 1941 SCREEN
ALBUM — the bright, up-and-coming new stars you
are raving about. Not that we have forgotten your
old favorites— you'll find them all practically
living for you on the pages of SCREEN ALBUM.
The beautifully printed, entrancing portraits, all
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Now — in one magazine, for only 10c — you can
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of Hollywood's most fascinating personalities, with
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NOW ON SALE AT ALL NEWSSTANDS 10 CENTS
HE THOUGHT:
UNTIL, ALAS, SHE SMILED!
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FROM ACROSS THE ROOM her beauty was
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form and color. He thought, above the
swift pounding of his heart, "Why, she's
the loveliest— the most exciting thing I've
ever seen in my life! I must meet her at once! "
And when he did, his eyes held hers and
whispered, "You're loveliness itself!" But
then—right at that breathless moment— she
smiled. And in just that instant his eager-
ness faded.
POOR TEETH— DINGY
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FOR IPANA, WITH MASSAGE, is especially
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FEBRUARY, 1941
JAN 11 KM ©C1B 48 0 6.59
MODERN SCREEN
i ■ 0
★
★
★
★
★
~k Published in l|
•fc this space
every month
The greatest
star of the
screen !
★
★
★
★
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★
*
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
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★
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★
★
★
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★
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*
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*
★
Good morning! We hope you've had a
Happy New Year.
★ ★ ★ ★
We bring you a recipe to start 1941
off right.
★ ★ * *,
It's "The Philadelphia Story". Let us
tell you about it.
★ ★ ★ ★
Once upon a time (are you sitting com-
fortably on my knee?) there was a girl
who was good in the Three R's.
★ ★ ★ *
She was Rich, Rare and Racy.
★ ★ ★ ★
She also was a Ravishing Redhead.
★ ★ ★ ★
She was claimed by three men. They
were the Three H's. Hero, He-man,
and Heel.
★ ★ ★ ★
They were all Handsome.
★ ★ ★ ★
The Three H's loved the Ravishing
Redhead. They wooed her on horse-
back, in swimming pools and at cham-
pagne parties.
★ ★ ★ ★
They Fought for her, Flew
to her and Framed her. It
all happened in Filadelphia.
★ ★ * *
Now that's just a hint of the most de-
lightful New Year's gift you or your
friends or your family ever got.
★ ★ ★ ★
We cannot open the book further on
"The Philadelphia Story". You must
see it, not hear about it. You cannot
afford to miss Cary Grant, Katharine
Hepburn and James Stewart.
3*
s
3T§
Paraphrasing the well-known poem,
only God can make a trio like that.
★ ★ ★ ★
"'The Philadelphia Story" (shh!) is
directed by the incomparable George
Cukor. M-G-M's own Joseph Mankie-
wicz is the producer.
★ ★ ★ ★
Now there are many plus values —
think of adding to Grant, Hepburn
and Stewart— in the cast.
★ ★ ★ ★
For example— in fact, for six examples
—Ruth Hussey, John Howard, Roland
Young, John Halliday, Mary Nash and
Virginia Weidler.
★ * * *
Endowed with a script by Donald Ogden
Stewart from the well-known Broadway
hit by Philip Barry, M-G-M ^ ,
proudly, buoyantly, happily^^rj
presents — ■ ? (Vt*S5
★ ★★★ „«
"The Philadelphia Story
-lea.
Another Metro -Goldwyn- Mayer advertisement for
"The Philadelphia Story" appears on pages.
TORIES
F
ASHIONS
F
EATURES
SCANDINAVIAN CHARMER
A close-up of that glamorous import— Ingrid Bergman 10
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
Glamour tricks from movie cameramen to make smoothies of us all! 24
HOLLYWOOD'S NO. 1 MENACE
A new slant on Gable by the chap who knoivs him best— himself 26
LADY HAMILTON
Leigh and Olivier relive history's most heart-warming romance 28
DATE BAIT
Let the movie kids teach you some siren stuff!
32
ALL THIS IS HOLLYWOOD. TOO!
Here's a side of town you'll never see from a sightseeing bus. .. 34
A THRILL A MINUTE ...
No more hot spots for Jimmy Stewart— and here's why! 36
BEAUTIFUL HANDS* TO HOLD
Hands are such tattle-tales— make yours say nice things about you 38
MISTRESS PROBLEMS
Meet the most heckled tribe in Filmdom, the stars' servants! ... 42
A GREAT PERFORMANCE
The poignant story of Madeleine Carroll's unflinching courage. . 44
MATRIMONY IN MOVIELAND
Charts and chatter to keep you up to snuff on your wedlock data 46
CLASSIC. CASUAL AND CHIC ...
Some adorable nine-to-fivers with a dash of night owl in 'em 54
SNOW— SUN
Ski clothes cute enough to melt an iceberg— sun clothes with verve! 56
PROP SHOP
Some new fillips for that jaded winter wardrobe 58
. ■ 6
Information Desk
"The Shepherd of the Hills" 8
12
Movie Reviews
14
Our Puzzle Page
19
Portrait Gallery
30
Dangerous Curves
40
Designing Males
..... 50
Good News
64
Modern Hostess
. _ . 95
Sugar n Spice
97
Movie Scoreboard
Cover Girl: Vivien Leigh, natural color photograph by Coburn
PEARL H. FINLEY. Editor - SYLVIA KAHN, Hollywood Reporter -
Vo, 22 No 3 February, 1941. Copyright, 194C Uta -.Dell Pub^ ^Jgf^gft^^
^bUed mlnthty! , Printed In U. S A. 0'|» ^»t,0priS - Canadian subscription $2.00 a year,
copy price 10c in U. S. and Canada; U. b. ^"'R"0." ? "rLi Sept 18, 1930, at the Postofhce, Dunellen, N. J.
coincidence. Trademark No. 301773.
MODERN SCREEN
4
Once upon a cockeyed time...
there was a ravishing redhead Jjjp^ who was very, very elegant
and fancied herself as a kind
of goddess. (Imagine!) . . . And she
was all set to marry a truly stuffy guy
showed up. Now he was a regular fellow
ties such as 1
t and
V
. . when her ex -husband
with many human frail-
and you-know-what. This time he brought
with him a handsome reporter with $M candid camera and candid
girl friend by means of which he hoped to snare many snappy morsels
for his Scandal sheet.
a midnight bathing parry for two . . . and a fight
wedding Igfo ... and how it all comes out makes THE PHILADELPHIA
So -o-o-o things got hotly mixed up. There was
. . . and a
STORY the funniest film in years . . . which should cause you to roll in
the aisles with laughter, ^
GRANT
HEPBURN
STEWART
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
There s more about
"PHILADELPHIA
STORY"
in the Lion's Roar
Column on page 4
ttk RUTH HUSSEY
JOHN HOWARD • ROLAND YOUNG • JOHN HALLIDAY • MARY NASH • VIRGINIA WEIDLER
Screen Play by Donald Ogden Stewart • Based on the Play by Philip Barry
Produced by The Theatre Guild Inc. • Produced by JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ
Directed by GEORGE CUKOR • A Metro -Goldwyn- Mayer Picture
FEBRUARY, 1941
5
INFORMATION DESK
OUR MAILMAN'S A BUSY CHAP. AND WE WANT TO
KEEP HIM THAT WAY! WRITE US AND WE'LL ANSWER!
Gloria Brandriff, St. Louis, Mo. Get out
your little black book— here's your date
data ! Bob Hope and Dolores Read were
married Dec. 25, 1934. Their adopted
daughter is sixteen months old. You may
be interested to learn that she's recently acquired an
adopted six-month-old brother Tony. Annabella was born
July 14, 1912. George Brent came into the world on March
15, 1904, and Laraine Day first saw light Oct. 13, 1919.
Irene Dunne's birthdate was July 14, 1904. Richard
Greene was born on Aug. 24, 1914, and Virginia Field on
Nov 4, 1917. Janet Gaynor's and Adrian's son is about
six months old now and the best-dressed baby in Hollywood!
Margie Neumann. New York, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Lundi-
gan were blessed with baby William on June 12, 1914, in
Syracuse, N. Y. He has grown to the sizable proportions of
six feet two inches in height and 170 pounds in weight and
has blue eyes and light brown hair. After high school and
Syracuse University, he took a job as local radio announcer
in his home town. His voice attracted the attention of a
screen executive who interviewed him and believed he had
spotted something a little extra in Hollywood hero material.
Later events proved his judgment 100% correct, and today
Lundigan's really on his way up. He's unmarried, but
currently in the toils of lovely Margaret Lindsay. During
his spare time he reads and tries his hand at radio playlets.
Martha Jones, Atlanta, Ga. Louis Hay-
ward's playing opposite Joan Bennett in
"The Son of Monte Cristo." Since his
entry into the world thirty-one years ago,
he's grown to a height of five feet ten and
a half inches, created a successful six-year picture career
and married twenty-four-year-old Ida Lupino. They are
both athletic and thrive on a steady diet of tennis and golf.
No he's never been married before. Louis, who has dark
brown hair, blue-grey eyes, scored a hit in "The Duke of
West Point," which was released Dec. 29, 1938. In this
picture he played the leading role opposite Joan Fontaine.
Sharon Cameron, Chicago, 111. You know a good thing
when you see it! Dennis Morgan was the gorgeous man
who played Thomas McCabe in "Tear Gas Squad" and
who, incidentally, is rapidly headed toward stardom in
"Kitty Foyle." Born Stanley Morner in Prentice, Wis.,
he was educated at Carroll College and gained fame singing
in opera and over NBC nation-wide hookups. In 1936 he
entered movies and he's likely to stay there at the rate
lie's going now! Warner Brothers, Burbank, CaL, are
distributing autographed pictures of him for a mere 25c.
Cherie LaCroix, Tampa, Fla. Your inquiry about the per-
son who took the part of Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Nazi
Minister of Propaganda in "Confessions of a Nazi Spy,"
led us into very interesting channels. It seems that the
studio prefers to leave him unidentified! If he plays the
role that convincingly, he must be a pretty swell actor.
Mrs. T. F. McCaffrey. Kingston, Pa. Any
song Deanna Durbin sings in her pictures
is literally "made" right then and there!
In "Mad About Music" she wowed 'em
with "A Serenade to the Stars," "Chapel
Bells" and "I Love to Whistle," and in "That Certain
Age," brought fame and fortune to the composers of
"My' Own," "Be a Good Scout," "You're As Pretty. As a
Picture" and "That Certain Age." You'll remember
"It's Raining Sunbeams" in "100 Men and a Girl" and
"Someone to Care for Me" and "My Heart is Singing"
in "Three Smart Girls." Her next film is "Nice Girl."
Eunice Millen. Southern Pines, N. C. Lionel Barrymore
was really crippled with arthritis for several months,
that's why he always played those wheel-chair parts
in the "Dr. Kildare" series. Good news is that he's recover-
ing and will be able to walk around soon. . . . None
of the Andrews sisters, playing in "Argentine Nights,"
are twins. Patty, La Verne and Maxine are their names.
A Lew Ayres Fan, Albany, N. Y. Born
in Minneapolis in 1908, Lew Ayres was
bitten by the "movie bug" in the second
grade. After high school he went to the
University of Arizona where he centered
all his interest on his banjo and guitar in the college or-
chestra. Hollywood was still his goal, so when part of the
band decided to drift West, he was eager to go along. The
Coast didn't offer all the glory he'd expected, but he man-
aged to keep himself going and hung around the studios
between orchestra engagements. The breaks were slow in
coming, but he finally made the grade after a wowing
success with Garbo in "The Kiss." At the height of his
career he satisfied his yen to direct and almost disappeared
from sight as a result of his failure in that venture. Re-
cently, however, the Dr. Kildare films have pushed him back
to the top again, and he's going to confine himself to acting
for a while ! He's very casual about the women at this point
and doesn't seem to be attracted to any particular one.
NOTE- If you desire a reply by mail, send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to Information Desk, Modern
Screen, 149 Madison Avenue, New York, New York.
MODERN SCREEN
I his is the most exciting story I know!
says Newspaperdom's ace story-teller
MARK HELLINGER
THEY call him 'Mad Dog'
Earle, enemy of all that
is decent and good. Yet his
dreams are every man's dreams:
a fireside on a friendly farm,
and the arms of the woman he loves . . . Then there's Marie,
deep down just another woman with a hungry heart — but
to the world a hard-boiled taxi dancer and Killer's com-
panion . . . ([Now her man is trapped alone, still
fearless and defiant, on the highest peak of the
terrifying High Sierras. He hasn't bowed to
any law on earth. He's trapped only be-
cause Man can climb no higher ... Is
this the end for the most dangerous
criminal since Dillinger— or is it only
the beginning? It's all blazingly told
in the new film success, 'High Sierra',
hailed far and wide as 'the
peak of screen excitement'! . .
'HIGH SIERRA' is the sensational new success
produced by WARNER BROS. ... For both their
brilliant performances it skyrockets to the top-
most star ranks
IDA LUPINO
■Ha star whose startling performance in
'They Drive by Night' made her an overnight
sensation! Here's the big role she earned I
HUMPHREY BOGART
with
RAOUL WALSH,
DIRECTOR
Of all his screen
successes, from
WhafPriceG/ory'
to'They Drive by
Nigh)', this film
stands supreme I
ALAN CURTIS • ARTHUR KENNEDY • JOAN LESLIE • HENRY HULL • HENRY T RAVERS
Screen Play by John Huston and W. R. Burnett • From a Novel by W. R. Burnett
No characteriza-
tion within mem-
ory has packed
the powerof this,
the greatest per-
formance in the
career of Hum-
phrey Bogartl
MARK
H ELLI NGER'S
high tribute to
'High Sierra'
is a rare one,
and mighty
well-deserved I
tit
Cast and crew teeter on a mountain top
following a long timeout. The terrific altitude
was too much for delicate constitutions!
PARAMOUNT TROUPE CUTS CAPERS
HIGH ATOP SAN FERNANDO PEAKS!
It's six o'clock in the morning and Henry
Hathaway and John Wayne are up and
about shoveling away snow from a "location."
Here's Carey— "The Shepherd of the Hills—"
with his two cronies, Virita Campbell and
Lucky, the director's non-professional pup.
Director Hathaway ribs U. of S. Cal. former
gridiron stars Templeton, Wayne and Gibbs
on their alma mater's terrific shellacking.
8
MODERN SCREEN
Carole Returns To Com-
edy; Makes First Laugh
Show In Three Years!
Bob And Carole Are Co-
Sparring For The First
Time In Screen History
Foreign Correspondent'
Hitchcock Puts Over
Another Terrific Scoop!
AND IT ALL HAPPENS IN ONE GREAT HIT— THE STORY OF A BRIDE WHO COULDN'T STAY MAD
FEBRUARY, 1941
By Katharine Best
Carbo isn't the only Swedish siren nowadays! Not with Ingrid Bergman on these shores!
The fact that Ingrid Bergman has been awarded so
tasty a screen prize as the role of the governess in "Legacy"
means that within just a few months a great many things
must have happened.
They began happening in a projection room in New
York City in the Spring of 1938. Katharine Brown, Selz-
nick's story editor, was watching the screening of "Inter-
mezzo," a Swedish film starring Josepha Ekman, Inga
Tidblad and Ingrid Bergman. Miss Brown was not unduly
concerned with the story, nor with the histrionic talents
of Mr. Ekman and Miss Tidblad. But this Ingrid Bergman
— she was captivating.
Miss Brown's estimation of the Swedish star's gifts was
immediately transmitted via long distance to Mr. Selz-
nick in Hollywood, at about one dollar per glowing word.
Mr. Selznick was interested and asked that a print of
"Intermezzo" be shipped immediately to the West Coast.
In a few days Miss Brown received an order from her
boss to buy the American rights to the film— but the film
only, no Bergman. Miss Brown set about doing this with
her customary alacrity, but to her it was like buying an
automobile without an engine.
A less determined soul might have let the matter drop
there, but when Miss Brown went on one of her regular
scouting trips in England for David Selznick, she couldn't
resist the opportunity of calling Stockholm and talking to
this Ingrid Bergman. Perhaps the young actress could not
speak English, which lack would make her useless as a
Hollywood player. Perhaps she would not want to leave
her native Sweden. Perhaps a lot of things. However, Miss
Brown put through her call. There was a long wait, and
then a man's voice boomed, "I'm sorry, but Miss Bergman
cannot speak to you. She is very busy, right now."
Miss Brown returned to New York with little hope of
ever seeing Ingrid Bergman on an American screen. How-
ever, a terse order from Mr. Selznick to return to Europe
immediately and sign up the young Swedish star rekindled
her enthusiasm.
A week later she was in Stockholm, where she was
introduced for the first time to Ingrid Bergman, whose
name in private life is Mrs. Peter Lindstrom. "On the
screen she had looked rather like a femme fatale," recalls
Miss Brown, "so you can imagine my amazement when
this youngster, looking not more than sixteen, with apple-
red cheeks, walked into the room. I thought I had made a
mistake, that I was negotiating with the wrong actress."
"I am so sorry I was unable to speak with you that day
on the telephone," Ingrid said quietly. "I was very busy.
I was having my baby."
Katharine Brown learned that in Sweden Ingrid Berg-
man's professional reputation corresponded approximately
to that of Bette Davis over here. Miss Bergman had been
a film star for many years. She spoke, besides Swedish
and an excellent English, fluent French and German. She
had been a student for eleven years at the Stockholm
Lyceum for Flickor, a smart school for young girls special-
izing in languages which, by the way, has nothing to do
with "the flickers."
She also learned that Ingrid Bergman had, at the age
of fifteen, written, produced, directed and even acted
in a juvenile playlet that had brought
her to the attention of the Royal Drama-
tic School in Stockholm. It was there
that she was discovered by Svensk Film-
industri, Sweden's leading producing out-
fit, for an important part in a film called
"Munkbrogreven." During the next five
years she appeared in eleven pictures,
and starred in the last three.
Her decision to leave an assured career
as Sweden's leading actress was a daring
one. The mere thought of Hollywood
terrified her, but two things made her
think that perhaps her decision was a
wise one. First, she was familiar with
the part she was to play in "Inter-
mezzo," and second, she knew that a role
in a picture starring Leslie Howard and
co-produced by him was an exceptional
opportunity. "Mr. Howard does not
make bad films," is the way she puts it.
Ingrid Bergman's arrival on these
shores in the early summer of 1939 was
like that of any ordinary European visitor
who steps off the gangplank for the first
time. She was besieged by neither re-
porters nor photographers. She was, in
fact, totally unknown and therefore to-
tally unmolested. A fortnight in New
York City did not mean lots of giddy
night life or interminable press parties,
but a continuous round of movies and
plays. She did not miss a single matinee
or night performance because, as she says,
"that's a good way to learn the language."
In Hollywood she stayed with the Selz-
nicks until she could find a small house.
For the first three weeks after her arrival
she was forced to undergo the rigorous
regime of Hollywood prettifying with
fittings, makeup, screen tests, rehearsals,
speech classes.
Ingrid was given no build-up during
the three months that "Intermezzo" was
in production. Selznick wisely concluded
that the American public likes to do its
own discovering, and his new importation
was not to be publicized at all. She was
to play the part of Anita Hoffm?n in
"Intermezzo, A Love Story"; the picture
was to be released; and then the public
could be advised of her past and her
future.
She was industrious and co-operative
on the set. Two incidents particularly
are remembered by her co-workers with
evident relish: The time she suggested to
the wardrobe mistress that she, herself,
repair a damaged gown; and the naive
fury with which she tore down the "No
Visitors" sign on her dressing-room door.
"That is a rude thing to say," she ex-
plained. After work she was able, unlike
other Hollywood personalities, to wander
about the town as she pleased. No one
knew her by sight, and a foreign accent
in Hollywood is as a coal in Newcastle.
Her desire to compare the New York
Fair with the San Francisco Fair led her
on a lone trek to the Golden Gate city
where she was so delighted with the
sights that she calmly overstayed her
leave by one entire shooting day! The
Selznick office, of course, was practically
hysterical wondering what had happened
to her!
At last "Intermezzo, A Love Story" was
finished. Ingrid Bergman was invited by
William Van Schmus of Radio City Music
Hall, to be guest of honor at a preview
attended by the Swedish, Danish and
Finnish consuls and their staffs. It was
a dignified and distinguished gathering,
and Miss Bergman had her first taste of
fame in America. This was followed
almost immediately by the release of the
picture in New York. There was some
reservation on the part of the critics as
to the greatness of the picture. Of Ingrid
Bergman there was no reservation at all.
Walter Winchell reported: "New Yor-
chids. Ingrid Bergman, the Swedenchan-
tress, in "Intermezzo." Oomf'ly good."
The New York Times said: "Miss Berg-
man's debut is one of the most delightful
things of the season."
The New York Herald Tribune wrote:
"Miss Bergman is the best acting find
Hollywood has made in a dog's age."
The New York Post reported: "Not
since Geraldine Fitzgerald debuted has
anything as nice as Miss Ingrid Bergman
happened."
The Daily Mirror said: "She is the fin-
est thing that has come to Hollywood,
from anywhere, in many a day."
And Ed Sullivan: "Unknown Ingrid
Bergman ran away with the honors."
And Dixie Tighe: "Absolutely tops."
All America evidently agreed with
these critics and columnists. Within six
months an unknown actress had won the
unqualified praise of press and public by
a great display of intelligence and emo-
tion on the screen. Off-screen she is a
revelation as well. She is vigorous, ro-
bust, and responsive. She can sit on the
coldest day before an open window with-
out shivering. She is twenty-three years
old, five feet nine inches tall, weighs 126
pounds and is vivid rather than pretty.
Her complexion has been called "the
most perfect," in Hollywood, and it is
quite unnecessary for her to use makeup
while appearing before the cameras.
Ingrid is quietly thrilled at her "great
good luck." She has lost every bit of her
fear of the Cinema City. As she puts it,
"I like Hollywood. Here, you work hard,
but it is fun. No one looks at you if
you wear slacks and comfortable clothes.
You can say what you please. Yes, I
like it here."
Well, stick around, Ingrid, because
Hollywood likes you too.
Great New Improvement in Beauty Soaps
helps Women Everywhere to a Lovelier Shin!
v .:v .■■•■vr: ^ ■■■■
"I'm just thrilled by new Camay," writes Mrs. J. W. Carlisle,
Boston, Mass. "My skin has always seemed rather sensitive,
but new Camay is so wonderfully mild that it actually seems
to soothe my skin as it cleanses. I know women who feel
they have sensitive skin will be grateful for new Camay !"
FEBRUARY, 1941
L_.
"I'm telling all my friends about new Camay!"
says Mrs. A. L. Valery, New Rochelle, N. Y."It's
so mild and gentle it's just perfect for my skin!"
Everywhere women are turning to this won-
derful new Camay to help them in their
search for greater loveliness ! They're thrilled
to find a beauty soap milder than other lead-
ing beauty soaps they have known.
We proved Camay's greater mildness by
tests against six of the best-selling beauty
soaps we could find. Proved, too, that Camay
gave more abundant lather in a short time.
If like many beautiful women your skin
seems sensitive, let regular cleansing with
this milder beauty soap help you to loveliness !
THE SOAP OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN
11
ARIZONA —This exciting hunk of Americana is well
over two hours long, but every moment of it moves
with rapid-fire precision. It is the graphic story of the
birth of Arizona, brought to life in an imaginative yarn
by Clarence Buddington Kelland, a native son, and
acted by a big company of players.
All the characters in the film are taken from history
books, with the exception of those played by Jean
Arthur and William Holden. Jean is cast as a rough,
tough gal fighting her way in a rough, tough world.
For purposes of this yarn, Jean bakes pies for a
living and dreams of starting her own empire. Eventu-
ally she starts a freighting business, falls in love with
Bill Holden, a wandering soldier boy, and is almost
whipped in the struggle for life by a gang of tough guys
who don't like to see a gal amass a fortune. She hangs up
her six-shooters, reaches for an apron and knitting
needles and settles down to being a good wife.
Young Holden, as the romantic influence, turns in a
very neat job and marches steadily upward on the road
to screen recognition; the boy has a lot of personality.
Warren William is fine as the head bully, but a bit too
heavy. It isn't his fault; it's the unrelieved meanness
of his lines. The other characters are all good.
Two of the things that make this film stand out are
the breathtaking scenery (it was filmed right in Arizona,
you know) and the photography. The script and direc-
tion are jerky in a few spots, but that is because the
lads were trying to cram so much punch and excitement
into it. Directed by Wesley Ruggles.— Columbia.
* * * *
Jean Arthur returns to westerns for the first
time in ages to play opposite William
Holden in "Arizona" — a rootin', tootin' epic.
★ ★ ★ ★
LETTER — w- Somerset Maugham's most dra-
matic story meets up with Hollywood's most dramatic
actress and the result is one of the finest films of the year.
It is the tale of a woman, happily married, as far as
the outside world is concerned, but who has been carry-
ing on a clandestine love affair. She kills her lover when
he jilts her and almost gets away with it— but one tell-
tale letter, written in a moment of desperation, proves
her undoing.
William Wyler, in directing this yarn, has chosen a
very lethargic pace and drives you quietly mad with
his masterly deliberation. The story holds you, the act-
ing holds you, but you almost want to cry out, "Get on
with it, man; what happens next?" And that's not a
squawk, but a compliment. Because it means that he
has you on the edge of your seat throughout the film.
The story seems almost to have been written with
Bette Davis in mind; you can't imagine anyone else
acting it. But by no means is it a one-performance film.
Herbert Marshall lends quiet distinction to the role of
her husband, and James Stephenson, as her lawyer,
makes you wonder why you haven't noticed him before.
Get ready for some very important work by this gent.
Best among the minor players are Sen Yung, a new-
comer with a tremendous amount of talent, and Gale
Sondergaard, who has an increasingly annoying (to
stars) habit of walking away with strong, very dra-
matic scenes. Directed by William Wyler.— Warners.
James Stephenson, brilliant British newcomer,
makes a screen reputation for himself in "The
Letter" starring a villainous Bette Davis.
12
MODERN SCREEN
John Payne was the only one who escaped un-
scathed during the filming of "Tin Pan Alley."
Faye lost her voice and Oakie burned a foot.
You won't be able to stay in your seat when
you watch Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor
and Nazimova outwit the Nazis in "Escape."
TIN PAN ALLEY — Here's a picture that has pep,
rhythm and laughter, all in copious quantities.
"Tin Pan Alley," which is generally conceded to be
45th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York,
is the famous block where all of America's popular
songs have been manufactured for the past thirty years
or so. In this block, we meet Jack Oakie and John
Payne who are partners in a fly-by-night, three-flights-
up "publishing house." The two lads are typical song-
writers, ambitious, full of dreams, none too scrupulous.
They have a tough struggle but manage to get to the
top of the heap with the help of a sister team consisting
of Alice Faye and Betty Grable.
The story is spread rather thinly, but pleasantly, and
is kept alive by a series of very amusing incidents and
a number of good, solid song and dance routines. And
by the way, a couple of those oldies may hit the come-
back trail.
The easting of the players is well nigh perfect. Jack
Oakie has never been better and comes near to walking
away with the film. Alice Faye and Betty Grable make
an exciting sister team — Alice excelling at the singing,
Betty tops at dancing, but both doing a bit of each.
John Payne has a new kind of assignment here. He's
a dashing, ambitious, fast-talking young man, and
chances are that he's at last found a role that'll lead
him straight to stardom. There are a number of excellent
bit performers, tops among them being Elisha Cook, Jr.,
the inimitable Billy Gilbert, John Loder and George
Watts. Directed by Walter Lang— 20th Century-Fox.
* ★ * Vz
* * * %
ESCAPE — One of the most poignantly dramatic films
of the year is "Escape," gripping and spine-tightening
melodrama. Both Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor
are excellent and the subject matter is very provocative.
Based on the best seller novel by Ethel Vance, the
film sticks very closely to the original, telling the story
of an actress who talks too freely in a land where
freedom is a thing of the past. She's carted off to a
concentration camp to die and her son, Robert Taylor,
an American, pulls all sorts of strings to free her. He
finally manages to arrange her escape by a series of in-
genious moves. But he is obliged to seek the help of
Norma, an American living in Germany so long she had
almost been blinded by its cruelties until this dramatic
incident inserts itself into her life — to act as her escape.
The thing that annoys you just a bit is the delineation
of the main characters. You get especially impatient
with the character played by Taylor and almost want to
wring his neck when he insists on refusing to be patient
and discreet. Most of his troubles (and those of his
mother, too), are brought about by this insistence on a
freedom of speech when such insistence is folly.
As mentioned, both Miss Shearer and Mr. Taylor are'
top-notch. Not far behind, if at all, is Conrad Veidt
in a masterly portrayal of a difficult role, and Phillip
Dorn, a handsome newcomer whom you'll be hearing a
lot about. Nazimova is an experienced performer, but has
only a few scenes. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. — M-O-M.
FEBRUARY, 1941
13
OUR PUZZLE PAGE
LET DOWN BY
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rush "Miracle Make-up Kit" of sample Tangee Lipsticks
and Rouge in both Natural and Theatrical Red Shades.
Also Pace Powder. I enclose 10* (stamps or com).
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Check Shade of Powder Desired:
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Q Rachel □ Dark Rachel □ Tan
Name
et.
(Please Print)
Rtntp
MM21
Puzzle Solution on Page 71
ACROSS-
12.
IS.
17
Character actor:
— Rumann
Baby's bed
Child actress
Grain
Indian girl in
"North West
Mounted Police"
Femme in "An-
gels Over Broad-
way"
19. With Ginger in
"Kitty Foyle"
20. An unheralded
film preview
22. Last name of 71
Across
24. "T - - Pan Alley"
25. Male lead of
"Escape To Glory
27. Pile
28. Wrath
29. "Past - - Hall"
30. Measure of land
What Western
heroes carry
Wife in "Four
Mothers"
37. Villain in "I Love
You Again"
39. Draws closer
41. She was in "My
Favorite Wife'
43. Girl in "I'm No-
body's Sweetheart
Now"
44. Actor in "Meet
John Doe"
Maureen's father
in "Sporting
Blood"
Male lead of
"High Sierra"
What Oliver
Hardy doesn't do
Universal's Mexi-
can dancer
51. Popular Greek
comedian
54. Girl in "Five Lit-
tle Peppers" series
33.
35.
46.
47.
48.
50.
How many Marx
in "Go West?":
Rom. num.
. Border
Famous director
of films
Portuguese coin
•She's grand in
"Seven Sinners"
Jiminy Cricket's
voice in "Pinoc-
chio"
i. Crafts
Theatre signs
contain this gas
68. Frightens
71. Warner Brothers
actor, pictured
here
Doctrines
A landed proprie-
tor: Scot.
Youthful screen
player
. Shirley - - - - -
. Confederate
Miserly
"The Great
O'Ma "
Actor in "My
Love Came Back"
Italian article
Fasten
Actor in "A
Night At Earl
Carroll's"
Birthmonth of
71 Across: abbr.
Pronoun
With Jeanette in
"Bitter Sweet"
Actor in "You'll
Find Out"
Entertain
State where our
star was born
Once
Joan's role in
"Little Women"
Dill
Visualizes
Comic in "Dr.
Kildare Goes
Home"
58
60
64
67
76.
80.
81.
83.
84.
85.
89.
90.
91.
93.
95.
96.
99.
101.
104.
106.
108.
109.
110.
111.
10.
1. Great actor in
"Boom Town"
2. He's in "The Long
Voyage Home"
3. Necessary prop in
Westerns
4. "The Cisco Kid"
5. Star of "Flight
Command": init.
6. "- -'- A Date"
7. Heroine of "The
Son of Monte
Cristo"
8. "The Great Dicta-
tor"
Jack — ie
Railway: abbr.
11. Conscious
12. A spherical body
13. Consumed
14. Hurler
16. Flaring rim
18. Johnson's comedy
partner
19. Wife of William
Powell
21. "R - - ching For
The Sun"
23. Flyer in "I
Wanted Wings"
26. Surface
28. Writing fluid
31. Sped
Disintegrate
Dance step
Unit
37. Pertaining to law
38. Mary B - ■ - nd
40. Glided
42. "B - - ther Rat
And a Baby"
43. Home of motion
pictures
45. Checking devices
47. Coated with
bread crumbs
32.
34.
36.
DOWN
49. Domesticates
50. Frequently
51. To endeavor
52. Inlet
53. Isa - - - anda
55. William - - -
56. Married
57. What Joan is to
Olivia
63. Boy in "Blcndie
Plays Cupid"
65. "An From
Texas"
68. Killed
69. Ace screen vil-
lain
70. To feel pain
71. Greek letter
72. Dampest
73. "- -. Kildare's
Crisis"
74. Sickness
75. Slippery fish
77. Grand old lady in
"Four Mothers"
7 J. Little ring
79. Comprehend
81. Young Chinese
actor
82. Beverage
85. Gombell
87. Belgian city
90. Hawaiian dish
92. "The L - - ter"
94. To steep
.97. Master of laws:
abbr.
98. Cunning
99. Pastry
100. Eggs of fishes
102. Cocktail ingredi-
ent
103. Wine chalice
105. "- - Your Toes"
107. Personal pronoun
14
MODERN SCREEN
MOVIE REVIEWS
(Continued from page 13)
***'/2 The Mark of Zorro
This picture will automatically remind
many grey-haired ones of the high point
in the film career of the late Douglas
Fairbanks. But you don't have to be an
old-timer to enjoy it, because for any-
body, of any age, this is exciting movie
fare.
You will meet a new Tyrone Power
here, a better Ty than you expected. He
has dash, color, vitality and range. It's
not the kind of acting that wins Acad-
emy Awards, but it does sell theatre
tickets. You fans who have stuck faith-
fully by Tyrone through a half dozen
or so films which were not up to snuff
will now be able to puff your chests
out and strut your "I told you so."
The story is another version of the
Robin Hood saga. Laid in old Spanish-
owned California, it tells about young
Zorro (Tyrone), son of the Governor. A
meanie named Rathbone and his stooge
named J. Edward Bromberg push the
Guv (Montague Love) aside and take
over, meting out very tough treatment
to everyone concerned. So young Zorro
plays a spineless sissy daytimes and goes
ariding by night, masked, with a sharp
sword poised. He straightens every-
thing out for a happy ending, which in-
cludes a lovely damsel named Linda
Darnell.
You've seen the same story before in
a dozen different versions, but never
as thrillingly told or with as much rapid-
fire action. Power's not as acrobatic as
Doug used to be, but he keeps moving
mighty fast, and he's as handsome all
tricked out in his brand new mustache.
As for the rest of the cast, they're ex-
actly what you expect when they're at
their best. Which is plenty good. Brom-
berg is perhaps especially effective in
his best film chance to date, and Gale
Sondergaard, too, rates a special mention
in a difficult role.
This, by the way, is one of those cases
where the director's hand is always evi-
dent— good, clear direction, photography
and acting, all neatly blended into a solid
entertainment package; not a minute of
it drags. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian.
— Twentieth Century-Fox'.
YIPPEE, FANS!
At last we have it for you — that bio-
graphical chart of your favorite "westerns"
that you've been begging for! Imagine hav-
ing at your fingertips the real names, birth-
places, birthdates, heights, weights, how
they got their start and studio addresses of
over sixty of those rough-riding heroes, leer-
ing villains and wide-eyed heroines of your
pet "horse opries!" Made up in a most
attractive form, it will make your album
proud as anything. Just send five cents in
coin or stamps with the coupon below and
your chart is as good as lassooed!
Information Desk, Modern Screen
149 Madison Ave., New York City
I am enclosing five cents in stamps or
coin for which kindly send me your chart
of the Western Stars.
Name •
Street
City State
Please print name and address plainly
It's always August
underneath your arms!
Underarms perspire in Winter as in Summer.
Use Mum daily to guard your charm!
OUTDOORS, winter may bluster. But
outdoors or indoors, it's always
August, always 98 degrees, under your
coat and dress, underneath your arms.
So don't let winter fool you. Remem-
ber, even when you see no moisture, odor
can and does form, and winter clothes
especially, are apt to carry tales about any
lack of daintiness.
That's why Mum is so important to
you right now. Just smooth Mum on and
you're safe from odor, sure of your popu-
larity, for a full day or evening.
Use Mum daily, for even daily baths
can't prevent risk of underarm odor. But
Mum's effectiveness lasts. Winter or sum-
mer, Mum is the word for charm.
FOR CONVENIENCE! Smooth Mum on
in 30 seconds and you're fresh for hours.
FOR SAFETY! Is your skin sensitive?
Mum won't irritate even after shaving.
And Mum is harmless to fabrics.
FOR CHARM! You're dainty always,
when you make Mum a daily habit. Get
a jar of Mum at your druggist's today.
Long after your bath has faded, Mum
goes on guarding your charm.
WINTER AND SUMMER. ..MUM'S THE WORD FOR CHARM!
For Sanitary Napkins
Napkins need Mum, too. For
this important purpose, thou-
sands of women use Mum be-
cause it is always so gentle,
so dependable.
TAKES THE ODOR OUT OF PERSPIRATION
FEBRUARY, 1941
15
S£mxr
ALL-WEATH E R
LOTION m
Winter is more fun if you're
well fortified against the weather.
Neither cold nor wind nor snow
will mar the appealing satin-
smoothness of your skin if you
safeguard it with Elmo All-Weather
Lotion. Just a little, used regularly,
on your hands, arms and legs will
protect against dryness, chapping
and roughness.
Make this lilac-
scented "satinizer"
part of your daily
after-bath routine.
Elmo All-Weather
Lotion is a rich,
non-sticky, marvel-
ously soothing
emollient.
$£rrw
*** Bitter Sweet
Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
in a Noel Coward musical is enough to
make you realize that this is an important
film. Unfortunately, the story has not
stood up against the ravages of time as
well as the music which is still the best
score Coward ever wrote.
The tale's a pretty little trifle about
a struggling young musician (Eddy) and
his wife. It is Vienna and being poor
does not seem to be important as long
as they can sing and dance and dream.
Then comes realization of their joint am-
bition, Eddy's musical is accepted for
production, and fame is just around the
corner. But remember the title. Bitter
Sweet. At the crucial moment there is a
cafe brawl and Eddy is killed defending
his wife's honor. She lives to see him
immortalized by his music. . ■
Although this story is not very taitniul
to the original, it is charmingly handled
and not too saccharine. Both Nelson and
Jeanette are in fine voice throughout the
film; the Technicolor is hauntingly beau-
tiful especially in the ivory finale; and
"Zigeuner" and "I'll See You Again will
linger with you. You'll probably find
yourself humming them for days, m fact.
Ian Hunter and George Sanders are
tops among the supporting players but
don't have too much to do, which seems
a shame, somehow. Directed by W. S.
Van Dyke.— Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
**★ You'll Find Out
Here is fun with a capital F, a picture
that makes no sense whatever but is a
roar from the first scene on. Kay Kyser
for rhythm; Peter Lorre, Boris Karloft
and Bela Lugosi for chills and thrills;
Helen Parrish and Dennis O'Keefe tor
romance — and the combination of all tor
^Most pictures wound around a band-
leader don't bother with story, but this
one does; it has a pretty good one, in
fact. It seems that Helen Parrish is a
rich heiress who hires Kyser and his
band to entertain at a party in her
ancestral old mansion. There, everything
goes wrong. A number of attempts are
made at Helen's life, and Kay Kyser
discovers what almost anybody in the
audience could have told him— that Peter
Boris and Bela are not good friends of
the family as Helen foolishly believes.
The writer and director have managed
to contrive a series of really exciting
and eerie happenings which keep things
moving along at a rapid pace, and there
are a number of songs and dances flow-
ing quite naturally throughout. It is a
very neat combination of chiller and
musical formulas, and it should add up to
fun for almost any kind of an audience.
You don't need to be told what the
various members of the cast do, since
you know them all and they are all per-
mitted to be themselves here. It should
be noted that band-leader Kyser is de-
veloping quite a pleasant filmic comedy
sense. And Ginny Simms, his specialty
songstress, not only warbles pleasantly,
but is mighty good to look at. "I've Got
A One Track Mind" is the best song.
Directed by David Butler.— RKO-Radio.
*** Lady With Red Hair
"Lady With Red Hair" is the screen
biography of a famous actress, Mrs. Les-
lie Carter, interwoven with a film yarn
about David Belasco. The combination
makes for plenty okay entertainment.
Miriam Hopkins does a thorough and
competent job in her role. But that she
is no Mrs. Carter shows up all too clearly
when she tries to reproduce that red-
haired lady's famous on-stage emoting.
Claude Rains as Belasco is tops from the
word go. He's always been a good actor,
. and this is his best role by far.
How accurate the story is does not
matter. It tells very simply and movingly
PHILADELPHIA • SAN FRANCISCO
16
MODERN SCREEN
the career of an ambitious actress and
her fight to win fame and happiness. It
is a woman's story frequently stirring,
although occasionally in need of more
suspense.
Richard Ainley, newcomer from Lon-
don, will have to do better than he does
in this picture before he will make hearts
tingle in this country. Laura Hope Crews
and Helen Westley handle comedy char-
acterizations intelligently. Directed by
Kurt Bernhardt. — Warner Bros.
*** Little Nellie Kelly
Judy Garland grows up — which is the
big news about this one. "Little Nellie
Kelly" is not the sort of picture that you
are likely to write letters home about,
but it's good, clean* fun. In film circles,
it is what is known as "a family picture,"
meaning okay for the entire family, es-
pecially mom and pop. And in this classi-
fication it is tops.
The story is taken from an old George
M. Cohan play which was better in its
day. Judy plays a double role. First
we see her as an Irish lass being courted
by George Murphy; she's a rather quiet,
somber young woman inclined not to
smile too often. They marry, come to
America, and she dies in childbirth in
a deathbed scene in which there's really
fine acting. Then there's a time lapse and
Judy appears again as the daughter, fully
grown, happy, carefree, almost giddy.
Douglas McPhail is her boyfriend now,
Murphy her pop and Charlie Winninger
his pop. It's pretty much hearts and
flowers with a lot of brogue thrown
around, but it holds up throughout be-
cause of Judy's splendid work.
There's a bit of disappointment in
Murphy's assignment here; it's almost a
straight dramatic role, and he gets very
little chance to be the splendid song and
dance man that he is. McPhail hasn't
much to do, but Winninger is a sock
in a straight comedy assignment. There
are a number of swell, old-timey songs
strewn through the picture, including
"Nelly Kelly, I Love You" and "Danny
Boy." Directed by Norman Taurog. —
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
**!/2 Gallant Sons
"Gallant Sons" is a whodunit with the
cast made up almost entirely of young-
sters. Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville
and Gene Reynolds are the stars, and
they keep things moving pretty pleas-
antly most of the way. It's no world-
beater, but it will afford you some fun
if you sit back and relax.
It seems that Gene Reynolds is the son
of Ian Hunter, a professional gambler,
and Jackie Cooper is the son of Minor
Watson, a newspaper man. Cooper's
dad is instrumental in getting Reyn-
olds' dad sent to jail on a murder rap.
The kids are fast friends, however, so
they gather up a bunch of their school-
mates, investigate the murder, prove that
Ian Hunter is innocent and that another
guy actually did the killing.
The way in which the youngsters
handle their detecting is ingeniously
worked out, although a few of the deduc-
tive steps are a bit too obvious and some
of the action is rather slow.
The romantic interest is supplied by
Bonita Granville, Jackie Cooper's girl
friend and daughter of Gail Patrick.
Hunter's so good, he seems wasted in a
bit part like this. Leo Gorcey, June
Preisser, Tommy Kelly and William Tracy
are certainly best among the youngsters
in supporting roles. Directed by George
B. Seitz. — Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
ALCAPP
ytf/fC&ZCC&ft BREAKFAST FOOD
FEBRUARY, 1941
17
GtOBIOUSBOMAN^
GLORIOUS -fa>A*«an**-
UTNRY FONDA
SdROTHY UJJW
<£SB&2>
fcy Walter D. Edmonds
featuring TNarWell
John Cartage Cartet
Roscoe Ate > KING
^?°CiatNunnally Johnson
Printed in
a ..Rcd Wheels HolUng
1
From
20th CENTURY -FOX
. . .the hit-makers who've
already begun to make it a
very happy 1941 for you !
18
MODERN SCREEN
SCOTTY WELBOURNE
Lovely Olivia de Havilland forsakes her saccharine roles for a good, solid characteriza-
J tion in Warner's tremendously exciting pre Civil War romance, 'Santa Fe Trail'
EUGENE ROBERT RICHEE
If you've longed for a lively love story interwoven with music from the world's most beauti-
ful operas, you'll thrill to Paramount lilting "There's Magic in Music/ starring Allan Jones
MODERN ' JREEN
A. L. WHITEY SCHAFf
Her ethereal beauty dazzled you in Columbia's "'He Stayed for Breakfast/' but wait till you see
the new and lovelier Loretta Young in the title role of Paramount's latest musical "Ballerina"
FEBRUARY, 1941
Cparamount
★
*
fKls"
YOU CAN TELL A PARAMOUNT PICTURE BY THE APPLAUSE!
22
MODERN SCREEN
FEBRUARY, 1941
23
SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
By William Roberts
They make fat stars thin and old stars young! Who? Those
magnificent Merlins of Movietown — the unsung cameramen
These fellows are pretty tough, believe me. They're banded together in a
secret organization called the ASC, and it's not that they try to be secret
but just that no one knows much about them outside of Hollywood. Movie
stars dread them and, privately, call them super-assassins. _
The leaders of the ASC have committed many drastic deeds. They have
• literaUyteken flesh off Myrna Loy's legs. They have flattened Breads Mar-
shall nose They have removed pieces of Madeleine Carroll s cheeks
They've reduced Priscilla Lane's mouth, narrowed Zorina's forehead a^d
changed Vivien Leigh's blue eyes to pure green. And for committing these
atrocities they have been paid as much as $1,500 per week.
However, if truth will out, the secret organization referred to is actuaUy a
staid labor union, the American Society of Cinematographers. The members,
merchanS of mayhem, are the very expert and very well-paid cameramen
S MovSSnd who, with thick ground glass and well-placed kliegs have made
oXary feces beautiful and have converted terrible defects into gorgeous
^ifany one class of worker in Hollywood does not get credit where credit
is due if aiy one class of laborer is hidden behind the star-bright glare of
publicity, obscure, unsung, unknown-it is the cinema cameraman.
"It's Sis way with us," Gregg Toland told me. "They've got us wrong,
Merle 0,
mely fluffy P^s»ell
MODERN SCREEN
entirely wrong, everywhere. They think cameramen
are low-grade mechanical morons, wearing overalls
and stupid grins, existing on starvation wages and
merely grinding 35 mm. toys. Well, maybe. Only
we don't like that impression. Maybe we are tech-
nicians. Nothing wrong with that. But sakes alive,
man, tell 'em we're creative artists, too!"
And so, I'm telling you. They're creative artists,
too. They're makers and breakers of thespians and
pictures. They're the Merlins behind the movies.
Take that fellow Gregg Toland who just had the
floor. A lean little man in brown clothes — cultured,
brilliant and active. Twenty-one years ago he ob-
tained a job during a summer vacation as an office
boy at the old Fox Studios. The film stars on the lot
didn't impress him, but the intent cameramen,
cranking their black-sheathed boxes, hypnotized
him. He decided to skip school and become a
photographer. The result? Well, the last I heard,
he had prepared for canning such products as "The
Grapes of Wrath," "The Long Voyage Home" and
"Citizen Kane."
I talked with Toland in the comfortable study of
his sprawling Benedict Canyon home. He downed
a long beer with a practiced gulp and explained
the qualifications and duties of the cameraman.
"A first-rate cameraman must realize," said To-
land, "that while some scenes of a film might be
shot much, much better, much more artistically,
those scenes are worth neither the extra time nor
extra cash investment. The cameraman must have
a strain of the economist in him, and get speed into
his picture without sacrificing quality. After all,
time becomes a paramount item when you realize
that a single day on a certain picture may run to
$22,000 in expenses!
"As photographer on a major movie, my first job
is to manage my camera crew. I have a special crew
of seven men. All specialists. I take them with me
wherever I go. There's an operator and two assis-
tants. There's a grip, a gaffer or electrician, a stand-
by painter and a microphone boy. But that's only
the beginning of my job. I must see that there is
efficiency. Speed, again. And, with things as they
are, I must practice economy by being artistic with
one eye on the production budget. These days a
cameraman is actually a producer, director, pho-
tographer, actor and electrician. The out-and-out
old-fashioned photographer who just had to ma-
neuver a camera is as extinct as the dodo bird."
With two decades behind a Hollywood camera, I
wondered just which particular feminine face Gregg
Toland considered the best he had ever brought
into focus.
His answer, like his personality and his pictures,
was direct,
"Anna Sten," he replied. "She was by far the
most photogenic woman I ever shot. She didn't
have an insipid baby doll face, you know the type.
She had a face full of good bones and character.
Her cheeks caught the lights well, and her nose was
so tilted as to place attractive shadows beneath.
Frances Farmer was another face I enjoyed working
on and, of course, if you want to go way back into
ancient history, there was no one like the incom-
parable Gloria Swanson. (Continued on page 81)
e
Gable kisses Lamarr (this clinch is
from "Comrade X") and gals wonder
what they, ever saw in their hubbies.
A million soupy sagas have been
26
MODERN SCREEN
,
HOUSANDS, perhaps millions, of words
have been written about how "natural"
Clark Gable is, how he takes everything
with his tongue in his cheek, how he has
a complete lack of ego after years of
such fame and adulation as have befallen
no man save, possibly, Valentino. Di-
rectors, bit players, his fellow stars,
interviewers, extras, the studio personnel, from Louis B.
Mayer down to a junior bus boy in the commissary, chants
the one refrain about Gable: "He blows himself down!
He horses his own stardom. He gives Gable, the star, the
belly laugh." It's almost impossible to believe it, but just
listen to a couple of classic examples:
One day the assistant director of "Comrade X" stuck
his head into Clark's portable dressing-room. "Hey, Clark,"
he yelled. "The pigs are waiting."
"I'm ready," said Mr. G.
"Mr. Vidor says," added the assistant director, "that he
can make this scene a long shot and your stand-in can
do it, if you'd rather not. It's going to be pretty messy."
"Boloney," said Mr. G, "what's wrong with pigs?"
And another day, Clark stepped off the set after doing
one of the big, emotional scenes of the picture. The crew
applauded. Hedy Lamarr applauded. Director King Vidor
gave his star a hand. The big fellow grinned. "I certainly
hammed that one up, didn't I?" he beamed.
Later, when Clark was safely out of earshot, King Vidor
said to me, "I have been in this business a long while. I
have directed most of them, oldtimers and newcomers,
big stars and bit players. And you can quote me as saying
that Gable is the man for my money. Not only because he
is a very fine actor, but also because he is the most down-
to-earth, easy-to-get-along-with actor I have ever known.
This 'Comrade X' hasn't been an easy picture to film.
We've worked inside a mechanized tank a lot, and close
No one else stands a chance with
the cameraman when Clark and the
photogenic Lombard are around!
quarters are always difficult. We have worked through fog
and smoke and rain and, furthermore, Clark had to ride
in a truck which also housed a pen of pigs. I don't know
any other star in the business who wouldn't have passed
that buck. Not Gable. He never complains about anything.
We always had a lot of laughs. He's not a fair-weather
guy. He has no conceit whatsoever. What's more, he has
an enormous and lusty relish for kidding himself. Quite
a different matter, you know, from a relish for kidding
the other fellow. Practically every time he finishes a big
scene, and a damn fine one at that, he says what you just
heard him say, 'Well, I certainly hammed that one up.'
And he believes it. How he has managed to stay as he is
through the blitzkrieg of fame and favor is, to me, the
major mystery of the picture business."
Hedy had a few words to say on the subject, too. "This
is the first time I have felt absolutely at home making a
picture," she told me. "It might have been my hardest
one because I wear no glamorous, attractive clothes. I wear
an old street car conductor's uniform, and my hair is all
straggly.
"The first day I started to work, I was more afraid than
usual. I suddenly realized I was playing opposite the Great
Gable, and it froze me. In 'Boom Town' I did not have a
big part and was not often on the sets; I did not have much
responsibility. But this 'Comrade X' was different. In this,
it was Clark and myself!
"He laughed at me for worrying and accused me of think-
ing motion pictures the most important thing in the world.
He kidded me, saying, "They are not as important as all
that, sister. Relax. Motion pictures will be here long after
you and I are both gone.' He said, 'Look, baby, this is a
picnic, a clambake.' I did not know what he meant by a
'clambake' but I did know I was having fun for the first
time since I "had been in pictures. I did know that for the
first time I relaxed when I worked.
"We would have 'tea' every afternoon on the set. The
first time Clark invited me to tea, I did not know what
to expect. It turned out to be tea made in an old coffee
pot and he served it with dozens of five-and-ten cookies!
"He helped me so much by making suggestions entirely
for my benefit. During the filming of a love scene that
was to be shot as a large close-up of the two of us, I was
supposed to lean over and kiss him quickly on the lips.
It seemed rather awkward for me to do. So Clark sug-
gested that he stay to one side, almost out of the close-up,
and that I first reach over my hand and touch his cheek,
then slowly draw his face to mine for the kiss. That
approach was easier and gave me more confidence. It also
gave me the close-up! After a while, I got so that I forgot
we were acting at all. We got down in the dirt and fought
like two wildcats for some scenes. I even had to kick him
where he sits down, and I wasn't afraid to kick good and
hard because I knew he could take it. That's how he is."
I was convinced at last that Gable was okay — a natural —
but how has he stayed that way, I found myself wondering.
Just one man could give me the real answer — Mammy
Lombard's Pappy Gable, himself!
"How come?" I asked him point-blank.
Gable favored me with a large and lavish wink. He
said, "I've got the answer right (Continued on page 77)
BY GLADYS HALL
penned about Gable, but here's a punchy one right from headquarters!
FEBRUARY, 1941
27
The gripping story of an overwhelming
love that defied public opinion and sur-
passed the might of Napoleon's armies!
( — 7 HE coach from London!" called the gateman.
/ "The coach from London, your Excellency!" said
& a lackey to Sir William Hamilton, Ambassador from
Great Britain to the Court of Naples— for, less than one
hundred and fifty years ago, Naples had not yet been
absorbed by a larger power. There was a King and, more
especially, a Queen in the Kingdom of Naples.
A few moments later Sir William was happily unboxing
art treasures which the coach had brought him. Assisting
him was the French Ambassador, who had been a bit
ruffled when Sir William had unceremoniously walked out
in the middle of a conference. But as he looked at a Greek
statue being lifted out of its case, he murmured, "Exqui-
site'" and as Sir William showed him a painting by Rom-
ney of a divinely beautiful woman, he forgot there had ever
been a conference.
"If he could paint reality, he would be a master! said
the French Ambassador critically. "No woman ever lived
with such coloring!"
"I thought so, too, until I met her," observed Sir William.
"You met her!" gasped the Frenchman wonderingly.
"She exists!"
Gavin Sir William's secretary, had been trying to break
in. At last he succeeded and drew Sir WilLam off to one
S1 At that moment two servants removed the portrait at
which the French Ambassador had been looking. He stared
much harder at what he saw behind it. Two women were
sitting on a bench, and one, a lovely young thing, was the
portrait come alive. ^
Miss Emma Hart and her mother rose from, the bench
and stared back at him, completely at a loss as to what
to do Just then Sir Wilham came up. Gavin had managed
to explain to him that the two ladies had been sent on
along with the other art objects and bric-a-brac, from his
nephew. Sir Wilham bowed deeply and presented the
French Ambassador to them.
The young lady had an enchantingly frivolous spirit.
Moreover, she was so lightly informed that she had forti-
fied her mind with a few memorized platitudes about the
famous places she had passed on her voyage These she
repeated, with no idea at all of the extraordinary effect
of amazement and delight they had on the two diplo-
mats. If anything, this naivete only added to her charm.
MODERN SCREEN
"You met her!" gasped the French Am- Contemptuously, Emma accused her "Now I have kissed you through two
bassador to Sir William. "She. exists!" husband of interfering in her love affair, centuries," Nelson whispered to Emma.
But even Emma was definitely aware of something wrong
when her mother, referring to the Leaning Tower of Pisa,
remarked, "A chimney went like that in Liverpool last
year. You remember, Emma, the soap works? It leant
right over the gin warehouse, and the Bishop said it was
the finger of God."
It must be stated here that the lovely Emma had arrived,
ostensibly to study singing, in the home of the Ambassador
as the friend of his nephew, Charles Greville, and that
Greville had previously found her established in Feather-
stone Castle, home of his friend Sir Harry, during a very
gay hunting season. And further it may be stated that
Sir Harry had earlier found her doing the Dance of the
Seven Veils in Dr. Graham's Temple of Health, which had
been closed by the police just after Emma dropped the
seventh veil.
"Don't ask me what she had done before that," said Sir
William, explaining these few details to the French Am-
bassador who had been overcome with the girl's seeming
innocence and was a trifle bewildered. "Perhaps," went
on her fiance's uncle, "perhaps a poor little country girl
wronged once — wronged again — the usual story — lower and
lower — but always up and up! As for that, consider this
superb statue that came with her. Two hundred years
in a Greek Temple — then thrown into the mud by some
barbarian soldier — two thousand years sinking deeper and
deeper into the mud — then dug out by the plow of a
peasant — changing hands every year until, at last, it comes
into its rightful place in the hands of someone who under-
stands the glory of its beauty — because it is still beautiful,
despite its past." And the tolerant man added aside to his
secretary, "I'll dine with Miss Hart alone tonight— at
eight o'clock."
Emma did her best at dinner. It was very important,
she knew, to make Charles' uncle like her if Charles was
to pay his debts, come for her in October and make her
at last a wife.
Sir William tried one way and another to enlighten her.
"Now, my child, as we are going to live under one roof,
we should be perfectly frank with one another. Charles
Greville will never come to Naples."
"But your Excellency — Uncle — " Emma answered with
quiet assurance, "he definitely promised to come for me
very soon, and the promise he gave me he'll surely keep."
FEBRUARY, 1941
Emma Hamilton Vivien Leigh
Lord Nelson... Laurence Olivier
Sir William Hamilton Alan Mowbray
Rev. Nelson Halliwell Hobbes
Capt. Hardy .Henry Wilcoxon
King of Naples Luis Alberni
Queen of Naples . . Norma Drury
Josiah Ronald Sinclair
Gavin Olaf Hytton
French Ambassador Georges Renavent
Mrs. Nelson Gladys Cooper
Adapted from the ALEXANDER KORDA
Production for UNITED ARTISTS Release-
Directed by ALEXANDER KORDA— Screen
Play by WALTER REISCH and R. C. SHERIFF
!
r
r
.*>
r
c
A
u
is
)
H
"I suppose he promised you marriage as well?" he asked
at length, and at her answer added, "My child, I'm afraid
I must destroy those sweet dreams of yours. My nephew
never had the slightest intention of marrying you, either
with my consent or without it."
Emma could not believe him. But she had an inspiration.
"Tell me, your Excellency, do you know about me — I mean
—did Charles tell you?"
"He did," said Sir William. "I imagine that was the only
thing he did not lie about. But please, I don't want to make
you ashamed."
"There's nothing I'm ashamed of," said Emma, looking
at him with a straight insistent honesty. "I made many
mistakes in my life — I was stupid — too young — I believed
in men and their promises until I (Continued on page 66)
Katharine Roberts
29
1 . 22-year-old Rita Hayworth keeps her
million dollar figure without benefit of bra
or girdle! Favors scanty lingerie and one-
thread hose. Splurges on clothes to the
tune of over $15,000 yearly, but econ-
omizes on help. Has only Velma (above)
and Larabee, who's a chauffeur-butler.
L- When she was 17, and dancing in an
Agua Caliente cabaret, a Texas oilman —
Eddie Judson — was her most ardent stage
door Johnnie. They were married four
years ago, after an 18-month courtship.
Both love dogs, the Conga, bowling and
that brand new card game — gin rummy.
U- Rita and Eddie have separate bed-
rooms. Main feature of hers is a 12-foot
satin-upholstered bed. Rita — whose hair
is flaming for her role in "Strawberry
Blonde" — crams her lines for two hours
nightly simultaneously nibbling choco-
lates, but never weighs over 118 lbs!
4. She has a size 5% foot, pays up to $75
for shoes and always has 45 pairs on hand
— some of which match her living room
furniture! She smokes, wears scarlet nail
polish, has received 300 proposals of mar-
riage, is mayor of 12 South American
cities and speaks Spanish like a native.
tit*
to*
****
31
If you're angling for a smoothie,
hook him with Bonita's wiles — and if you
boys are battling heavy competition, clear
the field with some of Jackie's stuff
Is it hopeless if the girl of your dreams can't
see you for dust? A thousand times
no, says Bobby Stack — who made Mary Beth
see him in a new tight!
You hear an awful lot about the "heat" stage of Holly-
wood romances, but somehow the "meet" stage rarely
makes the movie columns. You and I have always be-
lieved that in the cinema city boy invariably meets girl
under the world's most glamorous and moonlit circum-
stances. And we've finally resigned ourselves to the fact
that romance blooms like mad out there but that it just
can't happen here. Well, gather around, children, and learn
the unbelievable truth. j
A Hollywood commentator or publicity agent who can t
figure out a new way for a "he" to meet a "she" is in the
same position as an author of detective fiction who runs
short of murder methods. But while these Hollywood
drum-beaters stew, the youngsters themselves meet and
fall in love under circumstances that are duplicated all
over the world every day.
As proof of this we present the case of Jackie Cooper
and Bonita Granville. The conditions under which they
met were no more glamorous than those which attended
your best beau when he fell. Tke alarming difference is
that their meeting took place in Hollywood. Bonita went
to a party with Frankie Darro at Judy Garland s house
and Jackie came alone. The festivities wound up with a
scavenger hunt, and at one of the clues they bumped mto
each other and Bonita said, "Hello." For weeks thereafter
Jackie angled for a date but nothing happened. Finally,
after they had been formally introduced at the studio,
Bonita had a birthday and Jackie sent her eight gardenias
BY FRED HERBERT
MODERN SCREEN
32
and her very, very first orchid. Still no dice. When Val-
entine's Day came around, he sent her a bottle of her
favorite scent, but with typical boyish caution he enclosed
a phony greeting that read: "You're so sweet when you
pass on the street, all the boys stare. Gee, it's too bad
you've got such big feet."
Miss Granville kept the perfume and made no comment
on the card. But when young Mr. Cooper called up for a
date, she said, "Sorry, I'm too young." The truth of the
matter was that Bonita, realizing that she had Jackie
hooked, decided to get even with him for the comic valen-
tine. So she proceeded to do the town with various escorts
and even went so far as to turn up at parties in Jackie's
home with other boys.
Being convinced now that he had made a mistake, he
tried a fresh tack. Just before Christmas he sent orchids
with a note stressing "good will toward men," and ending
with the plea, "May I take you dancing soon?" P.S. The
"humble pie" did the trick. She accepted . . . they danced
... he complimented her . . . she complimented him . . .
and the little guy with the bow and arrow sat grinning
on the sidelines.
The payoff is that Mr. Cooper waited almost a year for
that date and all because of a prankish valentine. However,
Bonita and Jackie are now a usual twosome and Bonita
beams about his thoughtfulness and his sweet personality.
Case Number Two might be that of Bob Stack and Mary
Beth Hughes. When Mary was asked to meet Bob she
turned her back on the invitation. When pressed for a
reason, she explained that he had gone out with somebody
else for a long time and then had stopped seeing that
"somebody else" for no good reason. Finally, at Bob's
urging, a mutual friend convinced her that she had con-
fused him with another man. Mollified now, she agreed
YOU'LL BE HANGING OUT THE
STANDING ROOM ONLY SIGN
ONCE YOU'VE TRIED THIS HOLLYWOOD
TECHNIQUE ON THE LOCAL TALENT!
to look him over from a distance but made no promises.
Accordingly, some time later at Ciro's, Mary Beth sat at a
table with this same friend while nearby, squirming under
her appraising scrutiny, sat the hopeful Mr. Stack. Evi-
dently satisfied, she nodded to her friend who then rose,
approached the perspiring Robert and invited him to sit
at their table. That evening was the first of many and
today each thinks the other's terrific.
And just the way it might have happened in Paducah,
it happened in Hollywood to Helen Parrish! Helen's a
grown-up gal now, but three years ago she was at that
awkward stage, fruitlessly devoting most of her thoughts
to Charlie Lang, her brother Bob's handsome pal.
When he came to the Parrish home, he'd pass by Helen
with a "Hi'ya, kid," and like any other teen age girl, Helen
didn't appreciate the condescension. Why couldn't the big
dope see that she was wearing her heart on her sleeve
for him? But he didn't. It looked like a lost cause for
Helen for Charlie suddenly decided to leave California.
That was three years ago.
In the meantime, Helen outgrew that awkward age, and
the Parrish telephone began ringing day and night as
Rand Brooks and other Hollywood eligibles besieged her
with dates. Helen went out with them but she was just
marking time for Charlie Lang. When he did return a
few months ago, he whipped over to see Bob Parrish. Helen
opened the door and Charlie just stood stock still and
stared. When he spoke his voice cracked, and he didn't
call her "kid." He said, "Hello, Helen," and blushed. It
was a sweet moment for Miss Parrish.
Weddings are always sentimental affairs, for the bride
and groom . . . and the guests. Brother Bob's was no dif-
ferent. Helen looked divine to Charlie Lang, so he used
the occasion of the wedding as the bait and asked for a
date. Helen accepted.
They went dancing, and he held her as though she were
a fragile piece of Ming. When he caught her eye she read
the message he was too bashful {Continued on page 80)
Should you take to the shelf if "the
only one" is miles and miles away? Linda
Darnell (gadding here with Bob Shaw)
has solved that one beautifully.
And let Ann Rutherford (nightspotting
this time with Don Kahn) show you how
to cope with the hectic business of having two
best friends fall in love with you.
FEBRUARY, 1941 33
Here's the gaudiest, naughtiest, most wonder-
ful town in the world— with all of its dives,
its shops, its customs and oddities. Here is
its glitter and heartbreak— its very soul!
There is only one item your passport must con-
tain before you enter this strange land of Holly-
wood, and that's a visa stamped— "I have a sense
of humor." . ; . , ,
And, believe us, you must begin havrng that
sense of humor before you step on a tram Los An-
geles-bound (there are no train depots m Holly-
wood), and before you request your home-town
boy friends to write you in care of General
Delivery, Hollywood" (since the Hollywood branch
post office does not accept "General Delivery mail,
and you'll have to travel six miles to central
Los Angeles for such mash notes) .
Hollywood is many things. It's the crackpots
wonderland, the shopgirl's heaven, the incubator
for genius. Hollywood is a small town m Sunday
clothes, a constant first night, an endless County
Fair— where lights are brighter, voices are louder,
colors are more vivid than anything you've ever
known or dreamed. Hollywood is also the place
where there are three times as many holy churches
as unholy celluloid factories, where there are as
many males toiling in aviation plants as on motion
picture lots, where they've run absolutely dry on
synonyms for "terrific."
And, above all things, Hollywood is the one place
where you must avoid the Chamber of Commerce
as you would the bubonic plague, unless you want
to be harangued in this fashion by one of the
board: . . ~
"Hollywood, California, is a great city of 197,000
inhabitants, living within a beautiful area of
twenty-four square miles, at a breath-taking alti-
tude of 1,200 feet, where there is marvelous sun-
shine 334 out of 366 days of the year. Hollywood
is great, beautiful, breath-taking, marvelous!
Hollywood has 130 miles of paved streets. It has
thirty-five banks and branches. It has twenty-five
hotels. There is money everywhere— and the av-
erage family earns $3,750 a year, which isnt hay.
Hollywood is terrific! It's located a half hour from
the Pacific Ocean, a half hour from downtown
Los Angeles. It has Griffith Park, the largest, most
terrific municipal park in America. Hollywood is
the only city for you!"
If this has not sufficiently softened you, the
Chamber of Commerce possesses exactly 799 other
members, with the fanatical gleam of the Golden
West in their eyes, to convince you.
But, at the risk of being hung as a heretic, we
must tell you that lots of this is all wrong. Actually,
as pal to pal, we're telling you there is no city
of Hollywood, California!
In 1887, a chap named Horace Wilcox, and wile,
purchased a piece of property in Southern Cali-
fornia, built a ranch, named it Hollywood, after
a rich aristocratic estate in England. Forty years
ago Hollywood was being boomed as a real estate
stunt. Thirty years ago, for the sake of economy
and better facilities, Hollywood consolidated with
Los Angeles and became a section of the City of
Los Angeles. .That's the way it is today. Holly-
wood is no more a city than, say, the Loop in
Chicago is, or the North Side of St. Louis, or the
upper West Side of New York. Hollywood has no
mayor of its own. It has no chief of police. The
nearest station is the Union Depot, six miles off
in central Los Angeles.
Yet the minute you enter this foreign land with-
out a ruler, without a boundary, without an official
anything, you know you're in Hollywood!
You know it by the funny things you see,
the famihar-sounding places, the strange sights.
34
MODERN SCREEN
It's a twenty-minute drive from the depot in Los Angeles,
down the Boulevard to the center of Hollywood. At this point
you cross Western Avenue, reputed to be the longest avenue
in the entire world. And, at this point, also, a native Califor-
nian (you must remain twenty-four consecutive hours in
Los Angeles to become a qualified "native Calif ornian") will
undoubtedly grip your arm and whisper hoarsely, "There it is!"
You will stare blankly, and see only a drab corner office
building, housing a small drugstore, with a business entrance
at one side. From here on in you must have imagination —
for this is the Mecca of the many, the many with dreams of
success and of fame. This is the building that holds the Central
Casting Bureau! Here, through the dull, cold corridor, and
up a creaking elevator, you reach the offices of Central Casting.
Here, within the offices, are special files listing 17,000 extras.
Of these, only about 3,000 (most of them girls) are working
at one time. For appearing as an ordinary extra, each is paid
$5.50 a day — whereas a trained dog gets $50 a day! There may
be glamour here, but there are also empty stomachs, since the
average extra girl earns an average income, throughout the
year, of $7.65 a week! Only compensation is the fervent prayer
that one day, maybe tomorrow, one of these 17,000 — as in the
rare case of Janet Gaynor — may become a star.
Driving on down Hollywood Boulevard you will have the
impression of any busy main street in Kansas City or Boston,
except that Hollywood contains no skyscrapers. Most of the
buildings are low-slung and. have plenty of elbow room.
Nothing is way up in the air — except the sky. The reason for
this is a city law limiting the height of all public buildings to
fourteen stories — as a safeguard in the event of angry cement-
cracking earthquakes. In fact, in all of Hollywood, there are
only a dozen buildings constructed up to the limit, and these
are set on giant underground rollers to help sway the structures
during a major quake.
You are soon passing the bright Tele-View Theatre, a news-
reel house starring such a variety of actors as Mr. A. Hitler,
Mr. Donald Duck and other short subject luminaries. Peering
into the box office, you're liable to see Buddy Adler, the owner,
and his statuesque wife, Anita Louise, both checking on busi-
ness and greeting such famous "regulars" as Bob Taylor, Bar-
bara Stanwyck and Charlie Chaplin. (Continued on page 87)
; 1941
BY J
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36
MODERN SCREEN
FEBRUARY, 1941
37
"Look at those lovely hands," exclaimed one of Holly-
wood's top directors, enraptured as he watched the screen
test of one of Europe's newest refugee actresses. 'Those
foreigners may not always have the prettiest faces, but
their hands are certainly the most beautiful and ex-
pressive I have ever seen!"
We'd never thought of it just that way and, m our
newly awakened consciousness of the superiority of
everything American, we were in no mood to agree with
him However, his sincere praise did give us pause and
make us think. Our mind flashed back over half a dozen
foreign stars, and we couldn't deny the fluttering loveli-
ness of the hands of Vivien Leigh, Isa Miranda and Ilona
Massey or the fluid grace in those of Greta Garbo,
Marlene Dietrich and Greer Garson. We remembered,
too, the dramatic gestures of Dolores Del Rio and Luise
Rainer and the expressive vivacity in the fingers ot
Sonja Henie, Annabella, Danielle Darrieux and Simone
Simon. _ TT. . .
"Well," we said, "how about Ginger Rogers, Virginia
38
Bruce and Betty Grable? Or Anita Louise, Margaret
Sullavan and Ann Rutherford?" And it was gratifying
to note that the director had no comeback to that!
But, French or English, Scandinavian or American, the
principal question in our minds right now is— what makes
hands lovely, what gives them the power to intrigue?
Shape is not important. Hands may be slender, taper-
ing, short or medium, and still be beautiful. Training,
care and grooming— there are your answers in a nutshell.
Watch your gestures. Keep them rhythmic, slow and
graceful. Make your motions in curved lines, not m
nervous jabs. Watch your hands in front of mirrors. Cut
out those choppy, meaningless, indecisive little gestures.
Streamline your motions. If you want to break old habits
and develop new ones, try keeping your hands perfectly
motionless when talking. In the meantime, practice a
few simple limbering exercises. Then, after you've gotten
your hands relaxed and under control, begin to use them
with new, more graceful motions. Piano or typewriting
exercises practiced a few minutes each day on a table
MODERN SCREEN
Finger tips and fashion
finds from Hollywood
If your nails are naturally round, file them to elon
gated ovals and apply polish from base to
tip for length. Leave narrow margins at sides.
t
(U to
Oval nails are the ideal shape. Let
your half moons show and leave only a
tiny white tip at the end of each nail.
or desk are excellent for suppling your hands. Or, with
palms flat on a table, slowly raise each finger separately
eight or ten times apiece. Clench your fist, then extend
your fingers, stretching them wide apart. Repeat this
ten or twelve times. Bend back your open hand, stretch-
ing the fingers again. Now, dip forward from the wrist
in a quick swan dive motion. Let your wrists go limp,
then shake your hands loosely but not too vigorously.
Hollywood lovelies, whose every motion must have a
meaning, practice these and similar exercises regularly
every day to give that restful, fluid expressiveness which
we have come to take for granted.
Actual hand care begins with the skin. No one is going
to hold or admire a hand that is red and rough to the
touch. And in these days such conditions are inexcusable.
With mild soaps, soft brushes, wonderful hand creams
and lotions everywhere, such a situation springs from
only one cause — carelessness. It isn't the washing that
irritates, but how it's done that tells the tale. Even though
you don't use harsh, strong soaps you must thoroughly
rinse off all traces of any kind at all. And how do you
dry your hands?
Be sure you do a thorough job of it, pushing nail
cuticle back with your towel as you go and rubbing hand
skin back toward the wrist, never toward your finger
tips. Follow this with a protective cream or lotion applied
with a circular, deep rotary motion. If you spend much
time" outdoors, a coat of vanishing cream and a dusting
of talcum powder will add an extra film of protection.
If your nails are brittle, as they're likely to be, come
winter, keep a bottle of special oil or a jar of nail softener
with your kit of hand protectors. Use it after every
wetting and, of course, the last thing every night. In fact,
never go to bed without (Continued on page 74)
Square nails will appear oval if you will polish
in exaggerated half moons and file their tips
to shapely ovals. Leave margins at sides.
Nails with oval bases and square ends
look best with tiny moons and polish
extended to the oval-filed tips.
FEBRUARY, 1941
Long, slim, exotic nails need polish in
bright, dramatic shades. Half moons are
optional but they generally add grace
39
Roz Russell was
wheeled past Master
of Ceremonies Benny
in a huge hatbox.
He made some crack
about her hat; Roz
hooted, then popped
out of her tissue
and kissed him!
One of the most
hilarious features of
the opening was Dr.
Giovanni (a profes-
sional pickpocket.)
He lifted everything
— from Jack Benny's
suspenders to a pair
of someone's shorts!
Designing Males
A quartette of mad hatters stole the spot-
light at Hal Kemp's Cocoannt Grove opening!
Rudy Vallee left his own Pirates' Den for the
occasion, but refused to enter the hat-design-
ing contest for men. Couldn't bear to be sep-
arated from nineteen-year-old Sheila Ryan— one
of the cutest of the new Wampas Baby Stars.
Entrants in the contest were given a big selec-
tion of untrimmed hats and ornaments, and three
minutes in which to indulge their Lilly Dache in-
stincts. Here's Spencer Tracy— blushing— in his
prize-winning off-the-face, flower-trimmed bonnet.
MODERN SCREEN
40
And don't think Spence didn't have
some pretty frou-frou competition!
That's Herbert Marshall in the feather
and veil arrangement; Eddie Suth-
erland in something more on the
conservative side; Tracy (giving
the profile), and Gene Markey,
elegant . in a toque with plumes.
Mary Livingstone Benny (always
her hubby's best audience) guffawed
after each of Jack's side-splitting in-
troductions— ignored dinner partner
Herbert Marshall completely. He
perked up considerably, however,
when his favorite singer, Mary Mar-
tin, did a number with the orchestra.
FEBRUARY, 1941
Rosemary Lane tells her Nana about
all her love affairs — and poor
Nona's problem is to keep secrets!
ISTRESS
Vic Mature drives his Carolyn mad by
absent-mindedly throwing bits of the
newspaper all over her clean floor.
BY JEANNE KARR
You've had servant problems, no doubt, or have
listened to the woes of those who have, but did you
ever hear the other side of the story? Really, the
master and the mistress problems some of the stars'
servants meet up with make servant problems too
footling to rate even a footnote!
Garbo's servants, for instance, must play the part
of deaf-mutes. Not only must they see no evil, hear
no evil, speak no evil, but they must see, hear and
speak nothing at all, under pain of instant dismissal.
Then there's Maureen O'Sullivan's Nellie who had
to overcome her fear of animals when working with
Maureen on the Tarzan pictures. Cheeta, the mon-
key, would not only jump onto the dressing table
and make up his face, but he'd frequently try his
hand at Nellie's knitting!
Eleanor Powell's Ruth had to break in Eleanor's
dancing shoes for her during her last picture when
Eleanor's mother, who usually does it, was ill.
Lucille Ball's Harriet merely says that she had to
learn to like rare, red steak in the morning, because
the minute Miss Ball opens her peepers she yells
for some!
But these are piffling problems— you haven't heard
anything yet!
John Barrymore's Carl Stuever, nurse, companion
and mother, has met a really major problem and
has solved it. For five solid months John has been
cold sober and doesn't know it! Carl has given him
his Five Fruits daily, at first with the customary
amount of alcohol, then with gradually decreasing
doses until, five months ago, John started drinking
the Five Fruits straight. Moreover, so clever has Carl
been that John is elated at how healthy he feels and
boasts about how well he is "carrying his liquor." Up
in the sprawling great mansion in the hills John and
Carl are literally camping out. The place is "fur-
nished" with a camp cot and a broken-down daven-
port. There are no cooking facilities, and there
isn't a dollar bill to spend on the place. John says,
"I don't mind camping out in my Chinese tenement.
After all, I'm the outdoor type!" But Carl sees to it
that John fares well gastronomically, at least once a
day, by contriving to get him invited out for dinner
at the homes of various friends! And wherever
John goes, there Carl goes, too. Socially, profes-
sionally, domestically, they are always together, and
Barrymore, unique in everything, is actually a "hero
to his valet." For Carl, admittedly, adores "the
great man."
When a maid has to be as good an actress as her
mistress, that's another major problem. And that's
what Joan Crawford's faithful Alice has to be. When
Joan is hysterically happy, because she has gotten a
good picture or someone has given her a new piece
of jewelry, Alice must be hysterically happy, too;
when Joan sees her rushes and they are bad, Alice
must go to pieces along with Joan; when Joan has
a big, dramatic scene to do in a picture, Alice is
seen tearing her kinky hair. On the other hand,
Alice's menial labors aren't much of a problem be-
cause Joan does most of them herself. Joan always
makes her own bed, keeps a dustpan and brush in
her bedroom so she can do her own "light cleaning,"
counts the outgoing laundry and sorts and puts
away the incoming laundry. "It's just that you have
to be in tune with Miss Joan's moods," Alice ex-
plained.
Bette Davis' Joanna confides, "Miss Davis is very
exacting— the New England housewife if I ever saw
one! She has a phobia about dust and, as she also
has a mania for moving (Continued on page 90)
42
MODERN SCREEN
PR
STARS' PERSONAL
GENTLEMEN DISCUSS
You don't know the meaning of the word trouble, says Ann
Sothern's long-suffering Marie, until you've worked for
an ice cream worshiping star who's on a very strict diet.
Ida Lupino's Lily must remember the quirks and
whims of every single dinner guest. Each one
has to be treated as a member of the family.
Fred Astaire's valet has to have a good bit
of the slapstick comedian in him. It's his chore
to keep Freddie from getting into a "mood."
43
es Reid
/
There's an old Hollywood saying: "You can't make
a Glamour Girl cry." It has a double meaning.
No woman is beautiful when she cries — and a
Glamour Girl should always be beautiful. And you
can't make a Glamour Girl cry because she doesn't
know how. Her beauty has kept her from having
any contact with heartache.
But Madeleine Carroll has learned how to cry.
Madeleine has learned how to do a great many
things these past two years. Director E. H. Griffith
has been responsible for part of her education. Life
has been responsible for the rest.
Before she met Griffith, everybody thought of her
as probably the most beautiful blonde in existence.
But everybody had the general impression that she
was too poised, too cultured and (perhaps) too beau-
tiful to be emotional.
Griffith, a smart showman, aware of the fact that
audiences like to be surprised, got the idea of present-
44
ing Madeleine Carroll as a headache to the hero —
instead of an inspiration.
He cast her as a spoiled society girl, given to wise-
cracks and wild impulses. Audiences were as de-
lighted as they were surprised. Next, he gave them
Madeleine as a determined career girl who discovered
that she couldn't get along without sex and went in
desperate pursuit of a man. Audiences began to
think of Madeleine as not only beautiful, but warmly
human and amusing.
But then Griffith wanted to prove that, while she
could be an amusing person, she could also become
involved in a serious emotional tangle. Accordingly,
in "Virginia," he cast her as a light-hearted show-
girl who goes back to the South to sell an estate she
has inherited and finds herself torn between two
loves. Among other things, he asked her to cry.
Just before she was to do that crying scene, he
talked to her in her dressing-room.
"This is probably the most difficult thing you've
ever done," he said. "You've never cried as if your
heart would break. You've always been beautifully
'brave.' But this girl has run up against an unbear-
able situation which she is helpless to change. It's
too much for her. She breaks down completely—
MODERN SCREEN
Her honey-colored hair is naturally curly
They call her the loveliest blonde in the world
Her -favorite rig — dungarees and bandana
MADELEINE CARROLL'S IS THE MOST DRAMATIC STORY EVER TO COME OUT OF HOLLYWOOD!
for a moment. It's only human that she should. And
we want to get that point across. It's got to look real,
Madeleine. Let yourself go. Cry real tears if you
can; if you can't, we'll use glycerine."
Madeleine nodded. She didn't say anything.
A few moments later, she walked on the set and
took her place in front of the camera — dry-eyed.
The whole crew was tense, waiting to see if she would
cry. It was hard to believe she could. It was hard
to associate tears with Madeleine.
The sound man rang his bell for "Silence." Griffith
said quietly, "All right, Madeleine."
For a moment, she looked only like a woman inex-
pressibly worried. Then, suddenly, tears welled in
her eyes. Her face contorted in a paroxysm of emo-
tion. She sobbed. She cried as if her heart would
break.
When Griffith called "Cut!" the crew was silent
for a moment, a little embarrassed about having
watched any woman cry so heartbrokenly. Then
they told her how convincing she had been. They
broke into spontaneous applause.
Madeleine, her face streaked with tears, picked
herself up and half-ran to her dressing-room.
Griffith gave her a few moments to compose herself,
then walked over and knocked on her door. She
called, "Come in." He entered to find her at her
dressing-table, trying to repair the damage to her
eyes and make-up, trying to squelch the last snuffling
remnants of her sobs. She forced a smile.
"Did it look real?" she asked.
"It was the greatest bit of acting you've ever done,'*
he said, sincerely.
Madeleine stared at the mirror a moment, as if she
saw something there besides herself. Just as sincere-
ly, and very quietly, she said, "I'm afraid I wasn't
acting."
That is the only hint she has given of some of the
things life has taught her — the only admission she
has made of the emotional turmoil she is in, herself —
the only confession of the difficulty of "carrying on."
To the world, she is still the beautiful, poised,
serene Madeleine Carroll — the woman with the love-
liest smile in Hollywood. And that crying scene in
"Virginia" won't dispel the illusion that the picture,
as a whole, creates: namely, that she is a woman who
has found the recipe for happiness.
Nothing could be more ironic, because there is no
actress on the screen today who has less reason to
be happy than Madeleine. (Continued on page 93)
FEBRUARY, 1941
45
NAME 1
vlARRlEDTO y
DATE OF
CARRIAGE 1
MATE'S
»ROFESSION
PREVIOUS
MATES
CHILDREN
STATUS OF
MARRIAGE
Aherne,
Brian
Joan
rontaine
Aug. 20, 1939
Actress
vlone
None
Jride 'n' groomish
Albertson,
Frank
Virginia
Shelley
Mar. 7, 1931
Dancer
""lone
Frank, 6r another on way
In the groove
Allen,
Fred
Portland
Hoffo
May 4, 1929
Actress
•>lone
None
So sober, it's funny
Allen,
Gracie
George
Burns
Jan. 7. 1926
Comedian
None
Sandra, 6; Ronnie, 5,
both adopted
Whacky, but wonderful
Ameche,
Don
Honore
Prendergast
Nov. 30, 1932
Non-prof.
None
Donnie, 7; Ronnie, 5; Tom-
my, M/2; Lonnie, 6 mos.
Perpetual joyride
Anderson,
Judith
B. H.
Lehman
May 18, 1937
Professor
None
None
Firm as Gibraltor
Andrews,
Dana
Mary
Todd
Nov. 17, 1939
Actress
One
David, 7; by first wife
Getting along nicely
Annabella
Tyrone
Power
Apr. 23, 1939
Actor
Three
Ann, 10, by prev. marriage
In the "Torrid Zone"
Arthur,
Jean
Frank J.
Ross, Jr.
June II. (932
Studio
Vice-prexy
One
None
Lesson in longevity
Astoire,
Fred
Phyllis
Potter
July 13, 1933
Socialite
None
Fred, 5; Peter, 9, by wife's
previous marrioge
Top-happy
Astor,
Mary
Manuel
Del Campo
Sept. 19. 1938
Film
Editor
Dr. Thorpe,
K. Howkes
Anthony, I'/j: Marilyn,
by Thorpe
Heat wove
Atwill.
Lionel
Louise
MacArthur
June 7, 1930
Socialite
Elaine
Mackay
Son, 20, by first wife
For keeps
Autry,
Gene
ina May
Spivey
Apr. 1, 1932
Teacher
None
None
Happily roped in
Bainter,
Fay
Reginald
Venable
June 8. 1921
Ret. Naval
Officer
None
Reginald, Jr., 17
Smooth sailing
Bancroft,
George
Octavio
Brooke
May 30, 1913
Non-prof.
None
One daughter
Old Faithful
Bari,
Lynn
Walter
Kane
Mar. 15, 1939
Actors'
Agent
None
None
Bari, Bari good
Barnes,
Binnie
Mike
Frankovich
Sept. 28, 1940
Radio
Announcer
Samuel
Joseph
None
Honeymoon Express
Barry,
Donald
Peggy
Stewart
Sept. 7, 1940
Actress
None
None
Give 'em a chance!
Basserman
Albert
Elsa
Schiff
Dec. 31, 1908
Actress
None
Carmen, 30
Love's Old Sweet Song
Baxter,
Alon
Barbara
Williams
Apr. 28, 1936
Dancer
None
None
All Quiet
Baxter,
Warner
Winifred
Bryson
Jan. 29. 1918
His former
leading lady
One
None
Goes on, and on, and on
Beery,
Noah, Jr.
Maxine
Jones
Mar. 30, 1940
Non-prof.
None
None
Off to a good start
Benchley,
Robert
Gertrude
Darling
June 6, 1914
Non-prof.
None
Nathaniel, 25; Robt., 21
No short subject
Bennett,
Joan
Walter
Wanger
Jan. 14, 1939
Producer
John Fox,
Gene Morke>
Diane, 10, by Fox; Melindo,
6I/2 , by Morkey
Grade A
Benny,
Jack
Mary
Livingstone
Jan. 12, 1927
Actress
None
One
Crossiey rating: 100%
(Continued on page 60)
MODERN SCREEN
46
There are worse places for a man to marry a woman than in Hollywood.
There's Java, where a groom must prove he is healthy before a board of
ladies, then sit by himself in silence for forty days, then spend the first three
nights of married life with an old woman sleeping between his bride and
himself. And there is Koryak, in the North Pacific, where the groom must
chase his fiancee miles, catch her and, with a knife, slice off her bridal costume,
a suit sewed together with thick leather thongs.
Sure, there are worse places for marriage than Hollywood, but the actors
in town don't think so. They think California wedlock laws are too slow,
and so they rush off, via chartered plane or 1941 coupe, to Nevada, Idaho,
Arizona or Mexico.
But, to understand why, for example, a couple like Dick Halliday, the hand-
some writer, and Mary Martin, the equally handsome songstress, will leave
comfortable Hollywood, avoid the cozy courthouse which is only a V>a1f hour
from their home, and drive by night to Las Vegas, Nevada, to be married at
the stroke of twelve by a yawning Justice of the Peace — to understand such
loony antics is simple enough if you understand California's legal com-
mandments.
In Hollywood, when a young actor decides that he would like a better half,
he goes to the Hall of Records in the midst of downtown Los Angeles. There
he fills out, with his prospective wife at his elbow, an application for a
marriage license. This is sometimes difficult, especially when one is famous.
The rush of reporters at the License Bureau scared Edna Best and agent
Nat Wolff away. In the case of Tyrone Power, his throat became practically
paralyzed and the clerk, undoubtedly a movie fan familiar with Mr. Powers
biography, had to answer most of the questions for him.
Now then, two important factors enter the scene. The actor and actress, with
the honeymoon glaze in their orbs, must each submit medical certificates
signed by family physicians, certifying that they have been examined for
social diseases, have received the standard test for syphilis as required by
the state law and have been found healthy. No other papers need be sub-
mitted except if the male is under 21 or the female under 18, in which case
they must have written consent of their parents or guardians. Finally, having
applied, the bride and groom must wait three days for their license — the
three-day wait being designed to give them a last chance to think it over
before engaging in the most delightful penal servitude on earth.
After three days, they need only pay $2 for their license and wander into
a nearby chamber, where a Los Angeles judge will knot them forever and
ever — and insist that they keep their fee as a wedding present! Or, they may,
as Tyrone Power did when he said "I do" at Annabella's Bel Air home while
40 photographers waited outdoors, be married under (Continued on page 72)
t»
ot
lot* oi ^Hf*1
Feb. aU^_^^g
^e A eXc^ « is at ^e iX
FEBRUARY, 1941
49
and
W Set
ERROL SKINFLYNNT?
An ancient mining engineer, recently re-
turned from the faraway Indies, reports a
revolution fomenting in romantic British
Guiana. The cause of the trouble, he
tells us, is Hollywood's own Errol Flynn
who vagabonded through that country
before becoming a famous movie star.
Our engineer asserts Errol borrowed
dough from practically every explorer,
miner and native on the island, used his
gleanings to pay his steamship fare to
America — and, to date, hasn't kicked
back a cent! The boys in Guiana didn't
mind for the first few years, but they've
run into lean times of late and could use
the money. They claim they've written
Errol on several occasions and asked for
it, but they've had no response. This
her gown, and Kay reports she could
almost bathe in her beverages without
appearing untidy! All of which is by
way of being a fashion tip to you, and
you, and me — only, in our cases, it would
probably be wiser to buy dresses that
match our ice cream sodas!
ASIDE TO BETTY GRABLE
Vic Mature was once a married man!
So swears a woman we know who
knew him when. According to our in-
formant, Vic's wedded life was brief and
stormy and, when the end came about
a year ago, he was still deeply in love
with his divorced wife. The ex-Mrs.
Mature is said to have resembled Betty
Grable slightly and Lana Turner even
more. All of which leaves one wonder-
Annabella, and Cesar Romero, the most
eligible male of the lot, trails the rest
with only ten. Funny thing about these
proposals is the fact that though they are
considered important popularity gauges,
they are never answered! The stars
have torn their hair trying to find a
suitable response, but their final decision
is that there just isn't anything they can
say!
SERMON OF THE MONTH
The much discussed night-club scandal
which just a short while back broke
around the heads of a noted director and
a famous actress should be considered
a closed incident now and forever. With
all its contacts and newsgathering facili-
ties, this magazine, to date, has been
YOU'RE REALLY IN
THE HOLLYWOOD KNOW
WHEN YOU'VE READ
GOOD NEWS
GATHERED FOR YOU
BY OUR SUPER SLEUTH
— SYLVIA KAHN !
John Howard
Hedy Laraarr
department is fond of Errol and wouldn't
want to see anything happen to him.
That's why we're tipping him off, here
and now, that the gang is planning to
finance a trip for one among them who
will come to these shores and personally
put the bee on his neglectful old-time pal!
ON THE SPOT
Not because she's trying to duck a
cleaner's bill, but because she must re-
tain her reputation as the most smartly-
dressed woman in Hollywood, Kay Fran-
cis has taken to ordering wine the same
color as her gown! Kay found that
on too many occasions she spilled liquids
down her dress fronts and had to leave
Ciro's looking as bespotted as a high-
chair baby. Now the stains blend with
ing whether Vic just goes soft on the
luscious, lively type, or whether he's
constantly trying to relive the romance
that was.
HOW ABOUT DONALD DUCK?
In the dear, dead days beyond recall,
a star's popularity was determined by the
amount of fan mail he received, but in
this modern, streamlined era, they're
counting marriage proposals instead of
letters. According to studio experts, any
star receiving fewer than twenty pro-
posals a month either has not clicked
or is slipping! For example, Dean Jagger
is riding the crest because he collects
sixty a month, Alice Faye does more than
hold her own with forty, Tyrone Power
cui his down to twelve by marrying
unable to find a single eye-witness to
the so-called shocking behavior of the
pair, and it is our conviction that the
malicious gossips who conceived and
have been elaborating on the tale, owe
the deepest apologies to the very un-
happy couple.
DIDJA KNOW
That Clark Gable sleeps in only the
upper part of his pajamas . . . That W. C.
Fields has a wife and son living in
Beverly Hills . . . That Eddie Horton's
estate is called "Belly Acres" . . . That
Olivia de Havilland flies an airplane solo
now, but is still earthbound by Jimmy
Stewart . . . That there are 400 Robert
Taylors in the United States . . . That if
Lana Turner blossoms out in a new full-
50
MODERN SCREEN
length ermine coat, you may be certain
it's a gift from Tony Martin . . . That
Melvyn Douglas has danced in "every
one of his last five pictures . . . That
Patricia Morison whose initials are P. M.
has a brother whose initials are A. M.
. . . That Irene Rich passed around six
boxes of cigars when her grandson was
born . . . That to avoid forgeries, Maureen
O'Sullivan, like most movie stars, has a
special signature for checks . . . That
Ruth Nagel, daughter of Conrad Nagel,
is a junior at Wellesley College . . . Thqt
John Howard owns stock in every major
film company in Hollywood . . . That
Hedy Lamarr's No. 1 husband, Fritz
Mandl, phoned Hedy long-distance on
her birthday and talked for a solid
hour while his brand new bride sulked
green-eyed in an adjoining room?
Meanwhile, friend Carroll, not to be out-
done, met and married little Steffi Duna.
In due time, that marriage crashed and
O'Keefe, still in the matrimonial mood,
wooed and won the ex-Mrs. Carroll. But
here's the topper. "Wild Jack" recently
left the much-married Louise, sued her
for divorce and — please believe us — has
again taken up residence with his closest
buddy, John Carroll!
SUSPENDED ANNIE-MATION
The long line of jobless gathered outside
of Hollywood's Unemployment Insurance
Headquarters, gulped twice and rubbed
their eyes when a sleek, chauffeur-driven
limousine drew up to the curb and dis-
charged a beautifully garbed young
woman. But when the young woman
Errol Flynn
Betty Grable Ann Sheridan
LOVE IN TWO-TIME
It can only happen in Hollywood. Just a
few years ago, three of the town's
choicest Lotharios, Dennis O'Keefe, John
Carroll and Addison "Wild Jack" Ran-
dall, shared their bachelor bliss in a
comfortable Malibu cottage. Their life
together was a perfect song until, one
day, O'Keefe upped and married divorcee
Louise Stanley. Carroll and Randall
thereupon moved into smaller quarters
and might be there yet had not O'Keefe,
returning from a location trip some months
later, discovered that his pal, "Wild
Jack," had galloped off with the affections
of his lovely bride. He promptly sued
for divorce and, when the decree be-
came final, "Wild Jack" took the former
Mrs. O'Keefe into the Randall clan.
casually sauntered toward them and took
her place on the line, the jobless almost
swooned. Who wouldn't? Ann Sheri-
dan, under suspension by Warner Bros.,
and technically unemployed, had come to
town for her weekly $18 compensation
and no amount of stares or wisecracks
was going to cheat her of it! "Why
shouldn't I collect?" asked Annie. "I've
chipped in my share, and when I no
workee, the studio no payee! Heck, a
girl's got to live, doesn't she?"
MICKEY ROONEY
Mickey Rooney's a great little sport, and
let no man say otherwise. The other
afternoon, on the set of "Men of Boys'
Town," Mick was doing a sequence with
small-fry Darryl Hickman when he real-
ized that Darryl was hamming and mug-
ging, all over the place in an attempt
to steal his scenes. And did Rooney
the Star rage and rant over this pro-
fessional larceny? He did not! He
permitted Darryl to have his fun and,
when several takes had been completed,
ambled up to Spencer Tracy who was
chuckling on the side lines. "It's okay
with me, Spence," said he. "Now I know
how you feel when I'm in your scenes!"
SIDELIGHT ON CARY
Maids and matrons who would give their
all to come into the daily presence of
"easy-going" Cary Grant would do well
to heed the story of one of Cary's former
housekeepers. After a single month of
service in the Grant menage, that lady
wearily quit her job! "Couldn't take an-
other day of it," says she. "Mr. Grant
was driving me daffy! He has a ter-
rific cleanliness phobia and conducts a
daily dust-hunt on every piece of fur-
niture in the house! I believe in a clean
house, too, but don't like being handed
a note each morning telling me I skipped
three-quarters of an inch on the bureau
top. Mind you, there's nothing mean
about Mr. Grant but, if he were a woman,
I think his friends would pack him off to
a home for fussy old maids!"
GARY AND THE GEISHA
Miss Kazuko Yamamoto, tiny, satin-
skinned queen of Tokyo's geishas, has one
foot on the road to ruin. Miss Yamamoto,
the only geisha to ever bob her hair, don
modern clothes and become an American
movie fan, has long been famous as a
precedent-breaker, but her latest deed may
prove her undoing. She's let it be known
that she's passionately in love with Gary
Cooper! She's aware that Gary has a
wife, and a daughter, too, but no such
trifling items can throw a damper on her
Japanese crrdor. She even admits that
although kissing in public is a criminal
offense in her country, she'd plant her
lips on Gary's before the Imperial Palace
itself. Her second choice is Charles Boyer,
but she wouldn't risk as much for him.
Says he'd have to step inside.
OUR TOWNE
Heartiest chuckle of the month is con-
tributed by Gene Towne, 50 per cent of
the zany writing team of Towne and
Baker. Gene went to Ciro's the other
evening to celebrate the completion of
a new story and ran into a chubby-
chinned producer who felt like cele-
brating, too. The pair settled in a quiet
corner and were shortly joined by a
bottle of champagne and then another
and another. Towne, who is as great a
salesman as he is -a writer, began to im-
provise a screen story and did such a fine
selling job that, before the night was out,
the producer handed him a check for $10,-
000 for an idea Towne hadn't even
dreamed of a few hours earlier! The fol-
lowing morning, the pair sobered up and
got together for a story conference and,
after much hemming and hawing, it was
discovered that neither could remember
a single line of the plot! Back went the
ten grand to the producer — and on the
water wagon went our friend Mr. Towne,
FEBRUARY, 1941
the coast, he came right with her. For
several weeks he angled for audiences
with studio bigwigs, but met with success
of zero proportions. Then, just as it ap-
peared he would have to hit the road
again, Connie took matters into her own
hands. She went over to Jack Warner's
home for one of her regular poker ses-
sions and, before the evening was out,
Richard Ainley, with no previous movie
experience, was in possession of a
Warner Bros, contract guaranteeing him
$650 weekly for the next fifty-two weeks!
No, we don't have Connie's phone num-
ber. Or Mr. Ainleyls, either!
BEDTIME STORY
Lupe' Velez will probably be "Big Boy"
Williams' little woman by the time you
NO ACTORS WANTED!
After only a few months of wedded life,
Binnie Barnes has discovered a fly in her
marital ointment. Binnie can't stand lead-
ing men — and Mike Frankovich, her sports
announcer groom, has broken down and
admitted he wants to be a leading man!
The disease set in when Mike accom-
panied Binnie on a cross-country personal
appearance tour and found himself
swamped with fan mail and requests for
autographed photographs. He immedi-
ately developed a streak of ham so wide,
Binnie's threatening to cut it out with a
knife. But the odds are she'll cool down
about an acting career for her husband.
The . pair has been offered a not-to-be-
sneezed-at sum to co-star in a Broadway
play — and Binnie is an extremely prac-
Binnie Barnes
Tyrone Power
Brian Donlevy
HEDY IN EXILE
Don't go forgetting the Hedy Lamarr-
John Howard romance just because you're
not handed a daily reminder by your fa-
vorite columnist. It's still blazing, and
the only reason the publicity's died down
is that Hedy's been ordered by the court
to keep her nose out of nightclubs and
her name out of newsprint if she wants to
retain custody of her adopted baby son.
Hedy almost lost little Jimmy by leaving
Gene Markey's bed and board, but when
she came before the judge she likened
herself to a woman whose husband had
just died and asked if a child would be
deprived of its mother under such cir-
cumstances. The grim analogy won
Hedy the right to keep her son another
year, but the memory of her plea still
makes Markey squirm.
LIFE WITH FATHER
Jane Withers doesn't object to Darryl
Zanuck as a studio father, but she defi-
nitely would not want him as her real-
life pa. Jane's heard stories of how Mr.
Z. trains his youngsters and the Zanuck
Plan doesn't appeal to her. It seems
Zanuck abhors tearfulness in children
and has worked out some novel schemes
to build the courage of his own young-
sters. For example, one afternoon when
daughter Darrylin wasn't looking, he
slipped a harmless but slithery snake
into her pocket. When she reached in for
a lollipop, out came the squirming rep-
tile and along came her dad to tell her
why she mustn't be frightened! Zanuck
also scrapped his children's fear of water
by teaching them to swim when they
were infants. Now all three kids must
pop out of bed each morning and take
a pre-breakfast workout across their pool,
come sticky weather or frosty.
CLAUSE-TROPHOBIA
William Powell and Henry Fonda are both
married men. As such, they enjoy mar-
ried men's responsibilities, and neither
can afford to be tossed out of his job be-
cause of a fight with a studio boss. That's
why both have had unique clauses writ-
ten into their contracts. Fonda knows the
•only reason he'd ever want to leave the
Fox fold would be to do Thornton Wilder's
"Heaven Is My Destination" should it be
adapted into play form. His agreement
with the studio, therefore, stipulates clearly
thai there will be no hard feelings should
he ever pull up stakes and head for
Broadway and "Heaven." Bill Powell's
stipulation is a bit screwier. For years,
Bill has had an unholy and unfounded
fear that he would be asked to portray
Cyrano de Bergerac, Durante-nosed hero
of the Rostand play of the same name.
As insurance against that, he extracted a
written promise from his Metro bosses
that, though they might ask him to por-
tray anyone from Nell Gwynne to Ro-
meo, they'd reserve the Cyrano role for
Bob Taylor or one of the other boys.
IT WAS IN THE CARDS
A newcomer, trying to crash the golden
gates of Hollywood, would do well to
land Connie Bennett as his agent. Richard
Ainley will testify to thai. Ainley barn-
stormed with Connie and her stage play
last year, and when Connie returned to
read this. Lupe, who had originally
planned an October marriage, postponed
her wedding because, as she explains,
"I married Weissmuller in October. That
was a lousy marriage for me and brought
bad luck. I didn't want to risk it again."
In a conversation with Lupe, we learnec
that her greatest pre-marital problem was
the decoration of her boudoir in "Big
Boy's" home. She simply couldn't decide
whether to retain her own black lac-
quered bedroom suite with its ten-foot-
wide bed, or buy new furniture with a
"beeger" bed. One thing Lupe was posi-
tive about, however, was that her room
must be forty-five feet long. "It must be
tremendous," said she, "because I want
space for a fireplace, a bar, my piano
and an icebox. You know me. I spend
half my life in my bedroom."
tical girl. She and Mike keep little flour
sacks in their bedroom into which they
pour their extra nickels and dimes against
a rainy day. And they want to fill those
sacks. So maybe Mike will be an actor
after all!
OUR MISCHA
Since the morning Mischa Auer picked up
his newspaper and learned he was sep-
arated from his wife, his life has taken
on an entirely new complexion. Holly-
wood bachelorettes who previously ig-
nored him are now giving him the eye
and asking numerous intimate questions
about Mischa the Man. We- don't pretend
to know all the answers but the following
tidbits may tell you whether he's the type
that could make your heart bounce and
bound, (a) He always tops his breakfast
52
MODERN SCREEN
creatures who could meet kings, gods
or their Maker without a ruffle in com-
posure, you've got another think com-
ing. Actually, many of the biggest names
in pictures have less poise before an
audience than little Susie Zilch has before
her Sunday school class. For example,
Martha Scott, making a recent appear-
ance on a radio show, wore dark glasses
throughout so that she couldn't see her
studio audience and become upset. And
Charles Laughton, veteran stage star,
still will not appear on the boards unless
a' brilliant spotlight hits him full in the
face, practically blinding him and com-
pletely blacking out the folks down in
front.
SONJA'S FOLLIES
The fates are giving Sonja Henie an
awful shoving around these days. First,
Sonja had lawsuit trouble. She was sued
by an agent who was willing to call the
whole thing quits for $20,000. Sonja
rejected the proposal, fought her case,
lost it and had to pay the agent $77,000!
Next, 60 members of her Ice Revue troupe
balked at rehearsals the day before they
were to start their tour and refused to
go back to work until they were given
substantial salary lifts. And now, to
crown her woes, word's been brought to
her that Hollywood high school students
have taken her off their list of screen
favorites because they object to her mar-
riage to Dan Topping! They poutingly
protest she can't manage a career and
a fortune at the same time and contend
that by wedding a wealthy man she has
failed in her duty to them.
DATELESS BETTE
with a stein of beer and a bag of pretzels,
(b) He's good-natured and, to prove it, pre-
sented his beautiful Encino ranch to his
wife as a "goodbye to love" gift, (c) He
loves- to play the concertina, (d) His prin-
cipal hobby is photography. Although
his favorite subject is his son, he once
took a picture of Broderick Crawford that
was so good, Crawford ordered 1500 to
send to his fans, (e) He studies his next
day's lines in the bathtub, (f) His dearest
possession is a costly Storytone piano
equipped with tubes and a loud speaker.
By twirling a knob on the ' instrument it
can be converted into eight different types
of pianos, varying from a tinkling spinet
to a booming concert Steinway. (g) All
his victrola records are Strauss waltzes,
(h) No matter where he lives he must
have a huge painting of Czar Nicholas of
hop about like a younger edition Mickey
Rooney so that no delays can be hung
on him! Boyer's not complaining,' but the
studio head responsible for bringing the
picture in on time makes up for him.
Moans he: "When we had Jphn Barry -
more on the lot we had to build our
shooting schedule around a court cal-
endar. Now that we have Sullavan, we
have to build it around a stork calendar!
STARDOM DEFERRED
Tyrone Power, who's done so much to
get so many kids started in films, will be
amazed when he learns that he's the
reason Bob Shaw has had such a tough
time getting a break. Darkly handsome
Bob has been under contract to the same
studio as Ty for a long while, but officials
Sonja Henie
Bette Davis
Ray Millanc
Russia hanging over his dining-room
table. And there you have him, ladies.
Mischa "Heathcliffe" Auer, the reason
girls leave home — and go into convents.
BABY TALK
After seven years of married life Charles
Boyer is having his first painful en-
counter with Monsieur Stork. Not that
the great Boyer is about to become a
father. Nothing like it! He's merely
suffering because Margaret Sullavan is
about to become a mother! It seems
Boyer and Maggie are co-starring in
"Back Street" — and Maggie's third baby
is due any minute. In order to beat the
stork the picture is being produced in
frantic haste, and Boyer, accustomed to
leisurely lunches, rests between scenes
and 6 o'clock quitting time, must now
have been afraid to give him juicy roles
and a build-up for fear feminine fans
would hail him as a "new Tyrone Power,"
thereby injuring. Ty's heartthrob value.
Nine-year-old Joan Carroll is another who
got the same deal. She was bound to
a contract and held to small parts be-
cause she looked like a threat to Shirley
Temple. Happily, however, both these
youngsters are now on their way. Bob's
bosses finally relented and lent him out
for "Legacy," and Joan, who went to
New York and became a sensation in
"Panama Hattie," is currently being
courted by several major studios who
want her to stage a comeback as the
"new Joan Carroll!"
STAR BLIGHT
If you think movie stars are calm, cool
Bette Davis, who's probably the greatest
actress in films and a darned pretty trick
besides, has more escort trouble than any
girl we know. Eddie Albert would like
to date her but is so afraid she'll turn
him down he doesn't dare broach the
subject. And Bette, in turn, is hankering
for an evening of dancing with Cesar
Romero but naturally can't phone him.
She once did hint to a friend that she'd
like to know Cesar better, but when
Cesar heard of it he smiled regretfully
and said he was sorry. "Sure I want to
date Bette," he admitted. "Who wouldn't?
But can you picture the two of us stroll-
ing into Ciro's? Everyone would say,
'Look at Romero. He's angling for pub-
licity.' It wouldn't do either of us any
good to have people thinking 1 was
trading on Bette's fame."
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Brian Donlevy, well on his way to be-
coming an important star, will definitely
be someone to be considered when he
shoots Bob Taylor dead in their next pic-
ture. But even if he never killed Bob.
Brian would still be worth a second
glance. He's the man who owns the
largest bathroom in Hollywood, and let
no one forget it! After years of suffering
in hotel two-by-fours, Brian has built his
own home and indulged his oldest and
goofiest yen by knocking a wall out
of the architect's plans and converting
two tremendous bedrooms into a single,
perfectly huge bathroom just for himself:
(Continued on page 94)
FEBRUARY, 1941
Classic for class! That's our motto and will be yours, too. America's contri-
bution to fashion is the classic, always right and better than ever. Peter-Pan or open
throat tailored collars; button fronts; pleats and full skirts that natter. Perennial
youth captured in the clothes that Americans love. All eyes on Spring in
the 1941 classic hats and dresses. You can't get along without them.
Right. Tonic touch for midwinter; two tones are better than one.
Grey for the blouse and belt trimming; dusty rose for the
side-pleated, top-stitched skirt and sleeves.
Under seven dollars; J. P. Stevens; Chicago.
Stitched straw beret. Under two dollars; Macy's, New York.
Genuine snake charmers. Three dollars; Kitty Kelly.
Left. A McKettrick classic with skirted front fullness in
Wedgewood blue and white in stripe effect. Under six dollars;
Arnold Constable, New York. Pert patent leather opera pumps, Kitty Kelly.
54
MODERN SCREEN
Above. Irresistible— a love— in light blue
wool angora to wear as a dress or as a suit with a
blouse underneath. Set-in fitted belt; dramatic pockets. Under
seventeen dollars. Side roll, off-face felt hat. Under four dollars. Emily Shops.
Brown Morocco d'Orsay bow pumps; Ansonia Shoes.
FEBRUARY, 1941
55
GET
OUT
GET
OUT
V/HEREVER
xou
ARE
Home in the north— home in the south; or lucky you taking a trip.
Ski trains take you to your fun in the snow. The sun beckons on land
and sea. Wear the season's gifts to fashion at a price. 1. In New York, Gimbels
features a Brenda Gale ski suit. Navy blue wool and cotton gabardine; jaunty
mess jacket, brass buttons; gold zippered pants; under fourteen dollars.
Bright red regulation poplin hat and gloves; each under two dollars.
2. Combine your own : man-tailored ski pants in wool gab-
ardine and a bright print waterproofed poplin jacket
lined in snowy white. Each under eight dollars;
Franklin Simon. 3. After skiing, for fun indoors,
Brenda Gale's beer jacket, beige and brown flannel
slack suit. Cozy! Under seven dollars; Gimbels.
MODERN SCREEN
1. There's something about a sailor slack suit in clear blue
spun poplin. Trousers button on to blouse; rows of white braid
trimming. Under eight dollars ; Emily Shops. Authentics' wood jewelry.
2. Three cheers for the red, white and blue. Dance in jersey,
broad blue and white stripes, jacketed in red; an emblem on
the sleeve. Under seventeen dollars; Burdine's, Miami.
3. All the new details in an aquamarine Sacony sports
dress: set-in ribbed waistband, stitched, gored skirt.
Under eleven dollars; Burdine's. Back-fringed calot.
4. Ballerina-type play suit— jacket, backless and sleeveless
dress, separate shorts. Combination red and white striped and plain
chambray. Under five dollars; Emily Shops. Kitty Kelly Shoes
FEBRUARY, 1941
PROP SHOP
It's the little things that count
though they don't cost much
Chosen by Joan Bennett
in "The Son of Monte Cristo":
antiqued gold clips. $1 each;
Lord and Taylor, N. Y
Wind a two-tone Persian
colored knit scarf high on your
head. $1.95; Lord and Taylor, N. Y.
Darling of Spring is a
sheer white embroidered
blouse, lace trimmed.
$2; J. L. Hudson, Detroit.
The bigger the better;
white washable capeskin
bag. $2.95; Burdine's, Miami.
A hold-up! Ski-
braces — Tyrolean
fashion; 75c. Kleinert.
Mm.
Wffifct Merry, yellow rubber
• Oi^V^ tomatoes, plastic chain. A
Silson design. $1; McCreery's, N. Y.
New, petite
pin-in sport shields; 35c.
Young notions by Kleinert.
Going places? Use handy &&for*,
travel kits that you've made
vourself. Singer Sewing Centers.
58
ToTTnToT^oTio^^ write to the Fashion Editor of MODERN SCREEN mogozine
MODERN SCREEN
MRS. ST. GEORGE DUKE (the
former MRS. ancier riddle duke)
MRS. MARY ELIZABETH WHITNEY '
(the former MRS. JOHN hay Whitney)
AMERICAN
PASSPORT
WHAT stamps you an American girl?
Proclaims it in remotest corners of
the globe?
That aura of bright, pervasive fresh-
ness. The conscious perfection of groomed
hair, groomed nails, chic dress — twice-
clean skin.
That cool freshness of petal-smooth
skin is your American passport toBeauty.
Cultivate it, as do so many members
of leading American families — by de-
voted observance of the Pond's ritual: —
SMOOTH ON your face and neck clouds of
tender, caressing Pond's Cold Cream. Then
slap your cream-coated skin smartly for 3
full minutes. This deliciously slippy cream
cleanses and softens. It mixes with dirt and
make-up, the dried, dead cells on your skin
— softens them and sets them free.
WIPE OFF all this soft-
ened debris with deft
Pond's Tissues.
AGAIN SLAP with
cream-laden fingers.
And again clean off with
caressing Pond's Tissues.
These creamy spankings
enhance both the cleansing and softening
actions of Pond's. Lines seem less apparent,
pores seem diminished.
FOLLOW with the COOL, WET FRAGRANCE
of Pond's Skin Freshener.
COAT this freshened, dewy face with a layer
of a distinctly other type of cream — Pond's
Vanishing Cream. This cream's distinguish-
ing duty is to disperse remaining harsh
particles, aftermath of exposure, and leave
your skin silky-smooth — pliant! Wait one
full minute before wiping it off. Then see
how it has left an indubitable mat finish on
your skin. How competently it both receives
and holds your powder!
Perform this ritual in full at least once,
night or daytime. And in briefer form again
whenever your skin and your make-up de-
mand freshening. Keep your face ever cool,
clean, sweet as a flower — as do millions of
lovely American girls — with Pond's.
Send for Trial Case. Fill in and forward cou-
pon below. Pond's, Dept. 9MS-CVB, Clinton, Conn.
So I may start my Pond's ritual at once, please
send my trial kit of basic preparations I need, in-
cluding the 3 famous Pond's Creams and 7 Pond's
Powder shades. I enclose 10(f for postage and
packing.
Name— - — .
Address — . ■
City
-State.
MRS. JOHN JACOB ASTOR . . . MRS. DAVID S. GAMBLE, JR
MRS. NICHOLAS RIDGELY DU PONT . . . MRS. ST. GEORGE DUKE . . .
MRS. MARY ELIZABETH WHITNEY . . . MRS. ANTHONY J. DREXEL, III
names which represent six great American families of culture,
wealth and distinction. Each follows the Pond's ritual
FEBRUARY, 1941
59
(Continued from page 46)
NAME
MARRIED TO
DATE OF MATE'S
MARRIAGE PROFESSION
PREVIOUS
MATES
CHILDREN
STATUS OF
MARRIAGE
Bergman, Ingrid Dr. Peter Lindstrom July 10, 1937 Dentist
None
Tia, 1V2
Long-distance devo-
tion
Best, Edna
Nat Wolff
Seymour
Feb 6 1940 Actors' agent Beard, Her- Sarah, 6, by Marshall Best m the West
bert Marshall
Blondell, Joan
Dick Powell
Sept. 20, 1936 Actor
Geo. Barnes gjj™j^'by Tw° Dr6amS Met
Bogart, Humphrey Mayo Methot
Aug. 20, 1938 Actress
Helen Men-
ken, Mary None
Phillips
Four bells
Bowdon, Dorris Nunnally Johnson Feb. 4, 1940
Producer -
writer
None
None
"Okie"-dokeh
Boyd, William
Grace Bradley
June 5, 1937 Actress
Elinor Fair,
Dorothy Se- None
bastian
Riding high
Boyer, Charles
Pat Paterson
Feb. 14, 1934 Actress
None
None
Tou jours
Brennan, Walter Ruth Wells
About 1920 Non-prof.
None
Two sons; one
daughter
In line for an Oscar
Brown, Joe E. Kathryn McGraw Dec. 25, 1915 Nurse
None
Bruce, Virginia J. Walter Ruben Dec. 18, 1937 Producer
Mike Frankovich, 27,
adopted; Don, 24; Good bet for golden
Joe, 22; Mary, 10; wedding
Kathryn, 8 .
■ Susan Ann; 7, by Three down and life
John Gilbert Gilbert to go^
Bryan, Jane
Justin Dart
Dec. 31, 1939 Businessman None
None
Nothing else matters
Burnette, Smiley Dallas MacDonald Oct. 26, 1936 Writer
None
Burns, Bob
Harriet Foster
May 30, 1937 Secretary0116
Linda, 2%; Stephen, Jn the Aut tradition
8 mos.; both adopted
Barbara, 2V2; Robin
1%; Stephen Foster, j oves with age
3 mos.; Robm, Jr., 19,
by first wife
Burns, George
Gracie Allen
Jan. 7, 1926 Comedienne None
Sandra, 6; Ronnie, 5, Still "Burns and
adopted Allen"
Cagney, James
Frances Vernon
au t moo Former vaude- N
About 1928 yille partner
May adopt red-
headed baby boy
Object Lesson for
Newlyweds
His first lead-
Carey, Harry Olive Golden Spring, 1917 ing lady
C^rlsO^TRichird Mona Mavfield June 11, 1939 ModeF"
None
Dobie, 20; daughter, Looks permanent
None
18
None
Not newsworthy
Carradine, John Ardanelle Cosner Dec. 31, 1935 Non-prof. None
Carson, Jack
Chaney, Lon, Jr.
Kay St. Germaine
Patsy Beck
Aug. 21, 1940 Singer
One
John, 4; Bruce, 8, by
wife's former mar- As You d Like It
riage
None
Just plain wonderful
Chaplin, Charles Paulette Goddard June, 1934
Oct. 1, 1937 Non-prof.
Actress
One
Lon, 12; Ron, 10 Right as rain
Mildred Har- Sidney, 16; Charles, You'ye probably
ris, Lita Grey 15
Colbert, Claudette Dr. Joel Pressman Dec. 24, 1935 Surgeon
^T^nJRonald__ Benita Hume
Colonna, Jerry_
Norman
Foster
None
Sept. 30, 1938 Actress
Comingore, Dorothy Richard Collins
Florence Charlotte Nov. 2, 1930 Non-prof.
June, 1939
Thelma Raye None
None None
Writer
None
First due momen-
tarily^
heard
Don't believe the
gossips
The sun never sets
Not bad, not bad
Romeo and Juliet
were amateurs
Cooper, Gary
Crisp, Donald
Veronica Balfe
Dec. 6, 1933 Socialite
None
Maria, 3
Another Cooper tri-
umpli
Jane Murfin
Aug. 15, 1932 Writer
None
None
Mature and serene
Crosby, Bing
Dixie Lee
Sept. 29, 1930 Actress
Gary, 7%; Phillip
None and Dennis, 6y2; Solid sending
Lindsay, 3
Crosby, Bob
June Kuhn
Sept. 22, 1938 Socialite
None
Cathleen, 1V2
r^TYTrmngs^Robert Vivian Janis
D'Arcy, jMgxander Arleen Whelan
Aloha Wray
Serenus Wills
Darro, Frankie
Davis, Joan
Davis, Johnny_
Dee, Frances
Dekker, Albert
Feb. 27, 1935 Ziegf eld beauty None
Sept. 2, 1940 Actress"
July 30, 1939 Actress
None
In the clouds
None
None
Red hot
None
None
Aug. 31, 1931 Joan's manager None
Beverly, 7*/2
"Martha Garber Apr. 1, 1934 Non-prof. None
Judith, iy2
Still baby-talking
No time for comedy
Scoffs at scandal
Joel McCrea
Esther Guerini
Oct. 20, 1933 Actor
Apr. 4, 1929 Actress
None
Joel, 6; David, 5 Why lawyers starve
None
Jan, 3; John, 6 mos. Heaven can wait
Del Rio, Dolores Cedric Gibbons
Devine, Andy
Dietrich, Marlene
Dinehart, Alan
Dorothy House
a o nun Studio art Jaime Del
Aug. 8, 1930 director Rio
Oct. -20, 1933 Actress One
None
Religion blocking
divorce
Tad, 6; Dennis, 2
Somebody loves a fat
man
Rudolph Sieber
Mozelle Britton
May 17, 1924 Director
None
June 28, 1933 Actress
None
Maria, 15
Son, 5
Kept on ice
Standpatter
Dix, Richard
Virginia Webster June 29, 1934 Secretary
Daughter, 8, by first
, „ marriage; Richard Matrimonial
Winifred Coe and Robert) 5%, by marathon
second
60
(Continued on page 62)
MODERN SCREEN
Hollywood's wee ones give their
cliie mamas some stiff competition!
Juanita and Rita Quigley spectale at the showing of fash-
ions designed by Emily Wilkens especially for youngsters.
Joan Bennett's and Gene Markey's
Melinda wore plaid and was es-
corted by her dog in a twin coat.
Blond and cherubic Sandra Burns
personifies sophistication at six in
a house coat and the up hair-do.
Joan Benny prefers shirts and shorts,
but is a dazzler nonetheless in her
crisp, butterfly-embroidered organdie.
Left, Joan Benny models her pink, beaver-trimmed en-
semble that stole the show. It features infinitesimal spats!
Right, George Burns only had eyes for his leg-con-
scious Sandra, who changed to a dream of pinafore.
FEBRUARY, 1941
61
(Continued from pc
NAME
ige 60)
MARRIED TO
DATE OF MATE'S PREVIOUS
MARRIAGE PROFESSION MATES
CHILDREN
STATUS OF
MARRIAGE
Finn at Robert
Ella Voysey
Aug., 1929 Actress
t"\ no 1 fioc Civ, iT/z»v»
None
One
Joanna, 9; John, 7;
Brian, 4 ,
None
Disrupted by war
Neighbors can't talk
Donlevy, Brian
Douglas, Melyyn
Marjorie Lane
Helen Gahagan
Dec. ii, 19ob Singer
Apr. 5, 1931 Actress
One
Peter, 7; Mary Helen,
2Vz; Son, 17, by 1st
wife
Democracy at home
Duna, Steffi
Dennis O'Keefe
Oct. 18, 1940 Actor
John Carroll Juliana, 3, by Carroll
Fair chance for
survival
Dunn, James
Mary Gifford
Dec. 25, 1937 Non-prof.
None
None
Keeping its skirts
clean
Dunne, Irene
Dr. Francis Griffin
July 16, 1927 Dentist
None
Mary Frances, 6,
adopted
Something to sing
about
Eddy, Nelson
Ann Franklin
Jan. 18, 1939 Socialite
Sidney Frankim, Jr.,
None by wife's first mar-
riage
Hoot Gibson Harry Joe, Jr., 6
Worth waiting for
Beats a career
Eilers, Sally
Harry Joe Brown
Grace Durkin
Oct. 22. 1933 Studio exec.
Apr. 25, 1937 Actress
None Dirk, 8 mos.
Gossip-proof
Ellison, James
Erwin, Stuart
June Collyer
July 10, 1931 Actress
None
Stuart, Jr., 8; June
Dorothea, 5
June dittos Sally
Eilers
Fairbanks, Douglas
T71„^t-v-.-*-.1;»-r- T .IIPllp
Mary Lee Epling
Hartford
Owen Crump, Jr.
Apr. 22, 1939 Socialite
Oct. 12, 1940 Writer
Joan Craw-
ford
None
Daphne, 9 mos.
None
Nothing here, Mr.
Winchell
Plotted for success
Fields, Gracie Monty Banks
, , _ , ,. Edward Lindsay -
Fitzgerald, Geraldme Hogg
Mar. 18, 1940 Actor
Nov. 18, 1936 Song-writer
Archie Pitts None
None Michael, 8 mos.
Field (s) day
Short-cut to Paradise
Three-ring circus
Flvnn, Errol
Fonda, Henry
Lili Damita
Frances Seymour
Brokaw
June 19, 1935 Actress
Sept. 16, 1936 Socialite
Margaret
Sullavan
None
Jayne. Seymour, 3;
Peter, 1
None
Closed corporation
Almost poetic
Fontaine, Joan
Foran, Dick
Brian Aherne
Ruth Piper Hol-
lingsworth
Aug. 20, 1939 Actor
June 7, 1937 Socialite
None
John Michael, 2V2;
James Patrick, IV2
On the brink of
divorce
Foster, Preston
Gertrude Warren
June 27, 1925 Teacher
None
Stephanie, 2%,
adopted
Hardy perennial
Gable, Clark
Carole Lombard
Mar. 29, 1939 Actress
Josephine
Dillon, Rhea None
Langham
None Katherine, 2
Out of this world
Love on the run
Garfield, John
Gargan, William
Gavnor, Janet
Roberta Mann
Pat Kenny
Gilbert Adrian
Jan. 28, 1933 Non-prof.
Jan. 19, 1928 Jhodne
Aug. 14, 1939 Designer
None Barrie, 10; Leslie, 8
Lydell Peck Robin, 6 mos.
l\T^o Rarrv 11 adonted
First and last
Designed for living
Nothing to sneeze at
Gilbert, Billy
Gleason, James
Gleason, Russell
Ella McKenzie
Lucille Webster
Cynthia Hobart
Sept. 12, 1937 Actress
Aug. 22, 1906 Actress
Tnnp 9 1938 Actress
None
None
Russell, 30
Michael, IV2
Till death us do part
In his father's
footsteps
Goddard, Paulette
Charles Chaplin
-n. Actor-pro-
June, 1934 ducer
None
None
Slated for Mexican
divorce
Gorcey, Leo
Katherine Marvis
May 16, 1939 Non-prof.
None
None
No "tough guy" at
home
Greenwood, Charlotte Martin Broomes
■n 99 1Q94 Composer-
Dec. 22, 1924 producer
None
None
None
No kick coming
Track fast and clear
Grey, Nan
Gurie, Sigrid
Hale, Alan
Jackie Westrope
Dr. Lawrence
May 4, 1939 Jockey
Aug. 6, 1939 Physician
T. W. Stewart None
Nothing ails them
UjWUjiuu .
m miA His former
Gretchen Hartman Sept. 19, 1914 lea0>mg lady
None
None
Alan, Jr., 19; Karen, Hale &nd heart
16
None South Sea idyll
Hall, Jon
Hardwicke, Sir
Frances Langlord
Helena Pickard
June i, i»<so oingei
Jan. 8, 1928 Actress
None
Edward, 8
Foundering
Cedric
Hasso, Signey
Harry Hasso
Nov. 12, 1933 Cameraman
None
One son, 6
Temporarily
suspended
Hayden, Russell
June Clayton
Jan. 6, 1939 Actress
None
Sandra, 6 mos.
Branded for
happiness
Hayes, George
Dorothy Earle
Mar. 4, 1914 Actress
None
None
A long, successful run
"Gabby"
Ida Lupino
Nov. 17. 1938 Actress
None
None
Ida-eel
Hayward, Louis
Hayworth, Rita
Eddie Judson
May 30, 1937
None
None
Love congas all
Henie, Sonja
Dan Topping
_ . „.ft Millionaire
July 4, 1940 sportSman
None
None
No frost on this one
Herbert, Hugh
Rose Epstein
Former vaude - -lyr
Summer, 14 viUe
None
Alan 25
Still pitching woo
Accent on romance
Hersholt, Jean
Hervey, Irene
Via Anderson
Allan Jones
Apr. 11, 1914 JNon-proi.
July 26, 1936 Actor
One
Jack, 3; Gail, 9, by No sour notes
first marriage
Hobart, Rose
Wm. Grosvenor, Jr. Oct. 15, 1932 Chemist
None
None
rroper uigicuicmo
present
{Continued on page 82)
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FEBRUARY, 1941
63
'■Mammy" to tell us how to make her favorite Southern specialties
My, my! Here's Scarlett O'Hara's
Now that "Gone With The Wind
has celebrated its first anniversary in
such fine style down in Atlanta and is
being released all over the country at
popular prices, it occurred to us that
millions of new admirers would soon
be added to the countless people who
already have enjoyed Hattie McDaniel s
fine portrayal of "Mammy" in that
epic of the old South. It seemed high
time, therefore, to try and secure for
our cooking columns some of those
special recipes of "Mammy" McDaniel s
we had been hearing about for years.
We finally caught up with her in the
beauty parlor where, completely at our
mercy, she promised to tell us how to
prepare her justly famous dishes. ^
"Only you'll have to wait a while,
she declared, "because, you see, I cook
by instinct like so many of my race.
But I know you'll want things all set
down clearly, so's folks can follow
them easily. I'll have to make some of
those favorites of mine and write down
how much I use as I go along."
She proved as good as her word tor
in a day or two along came these
recipes, together with her favorite menu
and some practical cooking suggestions.
So, if you have ever wondered what
kind' of a meal Mammy herself would
have served to the O'Haras, here is
your golden opportunity to learn—
thanks to Hattie McDaniel.
Mammy's Southern Dinner Menu
Plantation Chicken with Dumplings
Corn Bread *Onions in
String Beans Cream Sauce
Cranberry Jelly
Tomato and Watercress Salad
McDaniel Dressing
Cracker Cake
Coffee
*or Sweet Corn Pudding
Chicken With Dumplings
Dress, clean and cut up a large (year-
old) chicken. Put in a stew pan and
cover with about 2 quarts of boiling
water. Add 1 small onion, sliced; 2
stalks of celery, chopped; 2 sprigs of
parsley and 4 peppercorns. Cover and
cook slowly until tender. Add 2 tea-
spoons salt the last hour of cooking.
Remove chicken, strain liquor and skim
off any excess fat. Measure chicken
stock— there should be 6 cups, so either
add water or boil down stock to make
required amount. Thicken with % cup
flour (directions for thickening gravies
will be found in the Special Suggestions
at the end of this article.) Cook until
smooth and thickened, stirring con-
stantly. Return chicken to this gravy,
add dumplings and continue cooking
as directed in dumpling recipe.
Dumplings
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
% teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon shortening
% cup water
Sift flour, measure, sift again with
baking powder and salt. Rub in short-
ening with your fingers. Add water
gradually, mixing it in with a knife.
Drop dumpling dough from tip of spoon
into stewpan, an inch apart and rest-
ing on the chicken so they don't drop
down into the gravy. Cover pan and
steam dumplings — without removing
cover — for 12 minutes.
Corn Bread
iy2 cups flour
4% teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3A cup cornmeal (yellow or white)
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons melted shortening
1 cup milk
Sift flour, measure; add baking pow-
der, salt and sugar and sift again. Mix
in cornmeal. Beat egg until light, add
melted and cooled shortening and the
milk. Stir into dry mixture, beat thor-
oughly, and turn into well-greased,
shallow, square pan. Bake in hot oven
(400°F.) 25 minutes, or until done.
Sweet Corn Pudding
Chop fine 2 cups whole grain canned
corn, or cooked green corn when in
season. Add 3 eggs, slightly beaten, 2
teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, a dash
of pepper, 1 tablespoon melted butter.
Stir in IV2 cups scalded milk. Turn into
greased casserole; bake in slow oven
(350°F.) until knife inserted in pudding
comes out clean — about 40 minutes.
Cranberry Jelly
Pick over and wash 1 pound (4 cups)
cranberries; add 1 cup boiling water
and boil gently for 20 minutes. Rub
through a sieve, add 2 cups sugar, cook
5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn in-
to a mold which has been rinsed with
cold water. Chill, unmold and serve.
McDaniel Dressing
Grate an onion into a bowl. Add 1
teaspoon each of salt, paprika and pre-
pared mustard, Vi cup sugar and % cup
vinegar mixed with V2 cup water. Stir
in 1 can (condensed) tomato soup and
1 tablespoon Worcestershire 
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